


Blood Stained Tears

by ObliviatedSoul



Series: Blood Stained Tears [1]
Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Bangtan Boys | BTS A/B/O, F/M, M/M, Music Video: Obsession (EXO), NCT 2019, SHINee Big Bang 2016, X-EXO Clone Byun Baekhyun, X-EXO Clone Kim Jongdae | Chen, X-EXO Clone Kim Jongin | Kai, X-EXO Clone Kim Junmyeon | Suho, X-EXO Clone Park Chanyeol, X-EXO Clones (EXO)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 50,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27913810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliviatedSoul/pseuds/ObliviatedSoul
Summary: How could so much go wrong in such little time? How could we all lose so much in the blink of an eye. Running, always running the looming threat that continues to close in. Teams being separated, people that have become family gone and not knowing whether they are dead or alive.being haunted by faces that look so similar to them but so completely different at the same time.I'm not sure how much longer I can keep running, how much more my soul can take before it breaks completely.
Relationships: Baëkhyun/Reader/Baekhyun, Byun Baekhyun/Reader
Series: Blood Stained Tears [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043973
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Honestly, I'm not sure if i'm going to turn this into a full series or not. This prologue is sort of a test run. I'm just getting back into writing after a long while and I'm not used to this site's format yet. please let me know what you think and if it's worth committing to, I'd like to continue this since I really miss writing...but let know in the comments! Please be patient with me, Thank you!

This was bad, this was so very bad.

Though she couldn’t see him, she could feel him. He was closing in and no matter how hard the pale girl pushed her weary, bloody and battered body to go faster, to just keep moving; it was starting to fail her.

Scarlett was past the point of trying to use her powers, black spots danced around her vision as she stumbled through the rubble and wreckage of this destroyed place that resembled her home- but was far from it. The sky above her was a blood red, an ominous black-flamed sun hung above surrounded back just a black clouds.

The nightmarish scenes that had plagued her for so long, now surrounded her from all sides- and this time, she knew it wasn’t a dream.

Suddenly a blast of light came piercing past her, she barely dodged by diving to the ground as she felt the burn of singed skin settle on the side of her pale cheek.

“Shit!” she cursed as her weakened body tumbled to the ground, no longer feeling the pain of debris piercing and digging into her skin, all she felt was the adrenaline that was keeping her from passing out.

Even that was now starting to fail. Draining so rapidly Scarlett barely had the strength to force air back into her burning lungs anymore.

“Little dove~” A soft voice cooed from behind- when had he gotten so close? She gritted me teeth as she refused to meet his gaze even as she saw his black combat boots stop directly in front of her collapsed form.

“I’ve found you little dove, why did you think you could escape me? Now look at you, bloody and weary…My poor little dove has had her wings clipped”

She had to suppress the shudder that shot through her shaking body, a voice that once was the source of comfort, safety and love now only held pain, darkness and fear.

He wasn’t him; he wasn’t him….

As the figure crouched down, his pale fingers grasped her bruised chin in an oddly gentle fashion that was supposed to be reassuring and disarming only set her teeth on edge.

Soon her silver-eyed gaze met with the icy blue orbs that bore into her very soul and she had to fight back the tears of loss and yearning staring into the familiar yet completely unfamiliar face before her.

He’s not him

White as snow hair framed his pale beautiful face, a silver chain hanging delicately across his face, covering the angry red scar that lay hidden underneath.

He was him, but at the same time he wasn’t.

Baëkhyun…” she gritted out bitterly. He might look like Baek, he might sound like him; hell, he might even share the same powers, but he wasn’t him. He was a lie, the enemy.

She wouldn’t go down without a fight.

He was quiet for some time, simply observing her, looking for something as he stared into into the girl’s determined and seething gaze. Slowly a smile spread across his lips that was filled with icy playfulness, warning of danger.

“Don’t worry little dove, I’ll set you free from your cage” he promised softly, eyes glinting maliciously.

That was the last thing Scarlett heard before she was consumed by nothingness and everything went black.


	2. Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> is it just a nightmare like Baekhyun said? or something much more ominous?

_Slowly my eyes opened, taking in the nightmarish scene that had long since become routine in my land of dreams. The sky above was a dark blood red, the sun- or what I assumed was supposed to be the sun- was burning bright with black flames._

_Barely any nature left to withstand the harsh environment; most of the grass lay dead and burnt over the ground, trees and plants alike lay broken and black as char. All wildlife or any living beings having long fled the area._

_Any of the buildings still standing within the area left empty, broken down and long forgotten._

_**Silence** consumed everything around me not even the sound of my footsteps could be heard in the void less world._

_Each night I always ended up here, for what reason I had no idea. Nothing ever happened, sometimes I thought I could hear a soft voice whispering through the air but no matter how hard I strained my ear to make out what was being said, I could never make sense of what was being said. Once I thought I ever saw a pair of icy blue eyes and a hint of white snowy hair that was unfamiliar yet strangely familiar._

_Suddenly the silence was broken as I heard footsteps coming from behind, startled I turned to see what it could be, only to stop dead in my tracks as fear and dread consumed my very being._

_There she stood with long snow-white hair cascading down her back, she had pale skin which was a stark difference to her all-black clothing she had a scar on her face- one I remember so vividly- that started over her right eye crossing down across her nose to the tip of her lips. Despite that, what really had my focus was her eyes-_

_The sclera of her eyes completely black while the iris and cornea was a piercing ice blue._

_She simply stared at me, gaze cold and calculating. However, I could still **feel** the hatred and contempt radiating from within her. Why was she here? How?_

_The longer our stare off continued, the more uneasy I felt. No longer believing this was just a nightmare but something more- Something much more ominous_

**“Scarlett-“**

_My body jolted at the sudden call of me name, neither of us had spoken, so who-_

**“Scarlett!”** _the voice called with more urgency, the world around me started to become distorted and begun to fade out. No! not yet why was she here? I hadn’t seen her since- I swallowed the lump in my throat, I wanted to call out, scream, anything but I was frozen and unable to do anything except watch the nightmare before me fade out into nothingness._

_____________________________

“Scarlett!” 

The same voice called out once more, soft and laced with concern. Suddenly my eyes snapped open only to find a pair of soft dark brown-almost black- eyes boring into my own silver ones. I only stared for a moment before slowly my body started to relax back into the soft mattress underneath.

“Baek…” I breathed out softly, while said male continued to watch worriedly, his white fluffy hair still mused from sleep, guilt immediately settled itself deep into my heart. I had woken him up- again.

“I’m sorry” I mumbled tiredly, he only shook his head “Don’t, I told you to stop apologizing for these things” he scolded softly, his arms reaching out to pull me into his embrace. I didn’t fight it.

“was it the same dream again?” He asked after a few moments of silence had filled the room, out of bad habit I began to mess with my snake-bite piercings, debating whether I should tell him what I saw or not.

“Don’t lie to me, just tell me…please” He mumbled burying his face into the side of my neck, I rolled my eyes- 

Damn him for knowing me so well.

“At first it was the same but then it changed…” I trailed off, trying to sort through my thoughts

“I….Baek, I saw her, I saw Scąrlëtt- I mean, Scąr” I finished barely above a whisper, her name felt like razorblades in my throat. I felt his hold on me tighten before I continued,

“It didn’t feel like it was just a dream, it felt like it was a warning- for something much more ominous…and with everything that’s been happening lately-“ I stopped mid-sentence to choke off a sob that threatened to escape. I could feel the anxiety and panic filling my very being as my heart started racing.

Thoughts going a million hours an hour, the past creeping in. I couldn’t-

“Breathe…” Baekhyun’s soft voice cut through all the panic and suffocation swirling through my mind. One hand rubbing soothing circles into my back while his other threaded themselves through my long midnight-black hair.

“I know what your thinking Scarlett, but it’s not the Red Force, all of them and anything having to do with it is gone, sealed off into a different dimension. They can’t hurt any of us again” He soothed gently.

I bit harder into my lip before speaking, “what about the disappearances? Baek, it’s not just anyone going missing it’s people like us. Teammates and people, we’ve known for years and it’s getting more frequent!” my voice trembled as I forced the words out.

“Think about it, all of the BTS crew- except for Yoongi- has disappeared, only Taemin is left from Shinee, from NCT -who had the largest group of all of us, may I remind you- is down to Lucas and Taeyong! So many of us gone without a trace and we don’t know whether they are dead or alive”

By this point I had left the comfort and safety of Baekhyun’s hold, having to fight off anxious energy that filled my veins. What I wouldn’t do to just shift and run it all off. Baekhyun had also gotten up and out of bed, turning on the soft glow of the lamp that sat beside the bed.

I know he was also stressed by so many different teams and members disappearing into thin air. Everyone was, to the point it was decided everyone would be staying at the **D.A.R.F** dorms together. Something we hadn’t done since-

 **No** , I wasn’t thinking about that.

Not right now.

Gently Baekhyun slipped his fingers through my own, his grip was firm but comfortingly so. “I don’t know what’s happening, but whatever it is we will get through it, together. We will find the others and put a stop to what’s happening. Okay? It’s going to be okay” He spoke softly but his voice held conviction.

The brief soothing moment was ripped away as hurried banging at our door startled us out of our little bubble, and just as quickly as it had left, the dread returned full force as Jongdae’s panicked voice rang out from the other side of the door

“Baekhyun! Scarlett! Wake up! Three more have disappeared.” With that we heard his footsteps quickly fading as he ran off to gather the others.

Baekhyun and I just looked at each other for a moment, our expressions grim, before springing into action and quickly throwing on whatever suitable clothes were around before throwing the door open and running into the hall along with the others.

**_If only we knew then what we’d learn soon enough that this was the beginning of the end. Our peace we had fought so hard to fight for was actually just the calm before the storm._ **

_______________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> Hey everyone! Finally got the first chapter out, not the happiest I've felt with a chapter, I'm sorry if it's a bit slow but things will pick up soon I promise and I'm sorry that it's also not a long chapter but I'll update soon >.< I hope you enjoyed the chapter though and I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe!
> 
> also, I feel like I didn't describe Scąr's the best way so If you want a better visual of her eyes you can click on the link! Thanks everyone for all your kindness and I hope you have a great day 🖤❤
> 
> https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/thumbnails/65054-1-1429914269.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/65054/&tbnid=wjz3kNunWqG1qM&vet=1&docid=kDlZ6olmrAHttM&w=385&h=256&source=s
> 
> still trying to deal with the format, I'm sorry, once I do I'll fix it. when I used to write before it was for a different site so I'm still getting used to this one,lol
> 
> let me know what you think so far in the comments! don't be shy, It really makes my day when I get them Q^Q


	3. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She should have just stayed with Baekhyun...she fucked up, really fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I'm sorry I posted this a bit later then had planned, alot has been going on this week that was really stressful (like the screen to our porch had a hole in part of it so both our cats got out. The younger one stayed in the backyard but the old one gets scared easier so she disappeared. When she got out once before it took 3 months before we found her and it was a really bad experience. However this time I was beyond thankful because we did find her but it was at 3 in the morning.) and it stressed me out so much that it made me sick, then the same cat (her name is jasper) who it took a bit to find we had to take to the vet because she had a sinus infection. oof, this week has been stressful,lol.
> 
> So yeah, I'm sorry if this chapter sucks because I wasn't as focused, I might go back and edit it but if I do i'll you know. I'm sorry '^'
> 
> I hope everyone has been doing alright though! Thank you for all the love on this story so far, I'm so thankful🖤🖤

I stood in silence as I listened to Jongdae’s retreating footsteps down the hall, my heart constricting in rising panic the anxiety rushing through my veins. The dream that plagued my mind playing on repeat and deep down I knew that this-whatever this was- was only the beginning.

Soft gentle hands slowly enveloped themselves around my trembling ones, there warmth grounding me from the panic attack that loomed closer. Slowly I breathed in then out several times before looking up into Baekhyun’s stressed gaze.

“It’s going to be okay” He whispered, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into my palm. He looked away for a moment in thought, despite his best intentions to assure that it’d be okay, we both knew that something ominous was steadily creeping closer and the truth of the matter was, that everything was anything but ‘okay’.

Forcing what I hope was a smile I held onto his hands tightly before quietly pulling away from him altogether. “We shouldn’t keep the others waiting, I can feel the others anxiety rising from even here” I sighed softly, grabbing one of the hoodie’s that was hanging off the end of the bed and tugging it on. Baekhyun suddenly smiled cheekily as I did so “What?” I questioned, eyebrow raising as I did so.

“Nothing, I just like it when you wear my clothes” His smile grew into a smirk, I scoffed “I just like wearing comfortable clothes, it’s not my fault that it just so _happens_ to be yours” I replied, turning away from him so he didn’t see the red flush of my cheeks or the smile threatening to make a rare appearance.

“Whatever you say” He agreed easily but we both knew he was right. As we headed out of the room I quickly tugged on his hand, when he stopped, I quickly wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into the crook of his neck and breathing in his calming scent. His quickly reciprocated while placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.

It only lasted for a moment, but it steeled my resolve to face whatever was waiting for us. We’d be okay, as long as we had each other. I had to hold onto that belief.

“Ready?” sighing, I simply nodded as we continued down the hallway towards the command room were the rest where gathered. As soon as we entered, the tension swirling around them was suffocating. Slowly my gaze shifted around the room trying to account for who was and wasn’t there, dread quickly coming back with vengeance. 

In the back corner of the room stood Yoongi, his jaw was set, and body locked in tension. When he felt my gaze on his, his eyes flickered over for a brief moment, he nodded stiffly in hello before his gaze fell back to the floor.

I knew this was hard for him, he was the only one left of his team and whenever more people kept disappearing it only weighed heavier on the burgundy-haired man, his eyes weary. As I continued to scan the room the only ones that still hadn’t joined were Junmyeon, Minseok, Kyungsoo, Tao, Sehun and Kris.

**Breathe…it’s okay, they’re okay…just running late…**

The words repeated themselves like a mantra before the doors suddenly opened; Junmyeon walked into the room, trying to portray calmness but his body was tense and his expression grim. Any small chatter that had been going on completely stopped, leaving the room in utter silence. Junmyeon didn’t say anything for a moment, he ran his fingers through his hair roughly as he tried to gather his jumbled thoughts.

“Just say it, Jun, who’s gone missing now?” Yoongi’s voice filtered into the silence, though he was blunt, he was right, we all knew more had gone missing.

“There was another flare of that strange energy. Appearing out of now where in alarming numbers, so I sent out Kris, Tao and Sehun to go check it out. Minseok and Kyungsoo were also on their way as back up in case they needed it, however when they both got there…The other three were gone. Without a trace and the energy spike was completely gone as well.” He responded defeatedly.

Several people let out curses and someone- I’m fairly sure it was Luhan- ended up smashing one of the vases that decorated the room. It was no secret how close he was to those three, especially Sehun, so right now he must be in agony. Slowly I made my way over to his side, silently placing my hand on his shoulder to ground him, at least for the moment. He hung his head between his hands, his fingers gripping at his hair tightly. Jaw clenched.

“Where are Minseok-Hyung and Kyungsoo-ah?” Chanyeol asked, his voice thick with repressed emotion, Junmyeon sighed as he slowly lowered himself into one of the empty chairs, his exhaustion betraying him.

“Minseok and Kyungsoo are safe, they gathered samples of the affected area, so they went down to the lab to start on testing them for any information” he explained, some relief from his words since at least not all five had been taken. Nevertheless, this was another blow to everyone. We still had no idea why, how or who was doing this, we felt like sitting ducks waiting for the slaughter.

“This is ridiculous! How can we just be picked off like this? None of us are weak or helpless yet whoever-whatever-is behind this is picking us off like nothing!” Jongdae’s voice trembled as he spoke, sparks of lightning swirling his body as his emotions continued to rise to near hysterics, Minseok must have felt Jongdae was about to snap as in that moment he appeared through the doorway, walking towards the younger man quickly.

“Jongdae” He soothed gently, guiding him towards an empty part of the room as he continued to quietly soothe him until the surge of emotions passed and the black-haired man slumped towards the ground, Minseok following suit as he continued to focus on him and no one else. Slowly I made my way back towards Baekhyun, my heart pounding as I tried to keep the shakiness out of my voice “Baek…” I whispered softly, gaining his attention, he seemed to already know what I was thinking though;

“We’re not sure that it has anything to do with this” He reasoned, fear lacing his words. I didn’t want to admit it either, if we put it out there for the others to know then it’d become real and the thought of having to deal with the Red Force or our x-selves again was terrifying.

The first time we had all lost so much, all of the pain, loss, death….They had stripped us down to our very being and it not only left physical scars, but mental ones too. Ones that ran so deep I didn’t know if they’d ever truly heal.

“I know Baek, I know. It’s terrifying to even think of, but at this point we have nothing left to lose. There’s a chance that all those who have gone missing are still alive and I can’t live with myself if I haven’t brought forth all and any information that might help.” I pleaded softly. He frowned slightly, worry shining through his soft brown eyes but nonetheless, he nodded, reaching for my hand

“If you think it’s for the best, I’m with you. I’ll always be right beside you” kissing the back of my hand, I sighed before turning my attention back towards the group noticing that at some point Kyungsoo had joined quietly, so now everyone was here.

**It was now or never**

“Uh…guys” I was thankful my voice sounded stronger than I felt, as the room all turned their attention towards Baekhyun and myself. He continued to hold onto my hand, offering silent support. My throat suddenly felt like sandpaper, I cleared my throat softly before speaking.

“I…I know none of us wants to even entertain the idea, but…We need to seriously start considering that this isn’t something from our world…” I trailed off, the tension in the room felt thicker then ever and having all eyes on me just made me want to shift into the fastest animal I could think of and run far, far away.

“What I’m trying to say is, I think that somehow-some way- Red Force has found a way to get back to our world. Though I don’t think it can last long since whenever these energy spikes do pop up it’s for a very brief amount of time.”

**Breathe scarlett, breathe. I reminded myself mentally as I continued,**

“I...I’ve been having dreams-or visions- I don’t know…They happen every night but earlier tonight for the first time, I saw someone…I saw Scąr-“ some visibly flinched at the mention of one of our x-selves, all of us had avoided saying their names since sealing them from this world.

“I don’t know what it means, or how they are getting through, but I _feel it_ , something ominous is coming and we can’t ignore it”

“That’s Impossible though, Scarlett, we sealed of anything to do with them as a whole, they are in a completely different dimension with no way back” Junmyeon tried to reason, but it was obvious no one wanted to admit that now, that was no longer the truth.

“I believe her” I was surprised when Yoongi spoke up, we're good friends, and when it was away from big groups of people, he was easy to talk with and less hidden. So, him speaking up now was a surprise but one I appreciated greatly.

Sighing he pushed away from the wall and stepped closer to the group, “No one wants to deal with that as a possibility, because we know what it brings with it. We can’t afford to ignore it just because it’s painful and fucking terrifying.” He finished, his voice breaking slightly towards the end as the shadows around him flared and swirling around his legs before shrinking back into their original forms. Betraying his calm and almost apathic façade. 

No one in the room spoke, but it was a silent agreement that they all knew they had to come to terms with. Sighing Junmyeon scanned the room, noting the weary and defeated expressions and, in some, the rage that lingered not too far.

“Alright, it’s very late and I know that the loss of three more has affected all of us deeply. Try to get some rest and we’ll continue this discussion then.” The leader spoke firmly but his own grief was clear. Junmyeon cared about each and every person dearly, they had become a family after all they had to endure and with the loss of Kris,Tao and Sehun he felt like he had failed them- failed everyone.

“It’s not your fault Jun” Luhan spoke for the first time since learning who had disappeared, sometimes Junmyeon really wished the elder wasn’t able to read minds. No one could hide their true feelings are thoughts from the doe-eyed man. So Junmyeon just nodded, having no energy to disagree.

Slowly everyone started to disperse, those who usually had rooms to themselves deciding to bunk with others since-though unspoken-the fear of someone else disappearing set them all on edge. The last pair out of the room was Minseok and Jongdae, the older of the two holding onto him tightly as he led them back towards the dorms.

Baekhyun, who still held onto my hand tightly, started to walk towards the dorms as well but I softly called his name, his gaze found mine once more in silent questioning. 

“Baek, why don’t you go back first? I’m…too restless, I need to run of some of this anxiety” I explained softly, his lips parted, quickly ready to disagree with this idea, but I placed my hand of his mouth before he could get a chance.

“I’m only going to use the trail around the base. I promise, I won’t stay out long…I just need to process everything…Please”

Sighing, he nodded in agreement before lowering my hand away from his mouth, his gaze bore into my own as he held onto my shoulders tightly

“Please, don’t stay out long and take your comm with you.” I assured I would easily, but he still hadn’t let go, before leaning down pressing his lips against mine, his lips were always soft and warm. They felt like home for me-

Everything about him felt like home, safety.

After a few moments of the tender, almost desperate kiss, Baekhyun pulled away, his thumb tracing over my flushed cheek lovingly. 

“Be careful, please, If something happened to you, I wouldn’t survive” He muttered quietly, tears threatening to fall, I reached up placing a soft reassuring kiss on each eyelid.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine and back before you know it” I promised before detaching myself from his embrace and made my way towards the elevator that led to the open grounds, I felt his gaze burning into me as I walked away, as if pleading for me to turn back to him and stay,I felt it until I disappeared into the elevator.

**I didn’t realize then, that this would be one of my biggest mistake and regrets.**

Once I made it outside, I breathed in deeply letting the fresh cool night’s air fill my lungs. My gaze looked over the trail before flickering over towards the forest that surrounded the compound. The urge to run through there was far to great, it always helped clear my mind.

I would be back soon; it wouldn’t be a problem i reassured myself . My silver eyes slid closed as I focused on the animal I wanted to take form in this moment. Full animal form always took a bit more concentration, but in this moment, I knew exactly which one I was going to choose.

Quickly a warm sensation spread throughout my body, it always made me feel at peace and fuzzy. like I was being wrapped in a blanket that held only calm, peaceful emotions and I felt free. I was running across the field towards the forest as I felt myself shift fully; the next moment my body was replaced and what leapt forward was a black-furred wolf with silver eyes.

I was smaller compared to most wolves, but lean and fast. When I took an animal’s form it was like I was seeing the world around me in a fresh, free view. I felt the wind whip past and through my fur as I pushed on faster. Wanting to forget everything, just for a while.

I was so lost in the feel of nature around me as I ran through the darkness of the night, I failed to realize not only had I moved farther from the compound then I had meant to, but also how the air around me had turned unnaturally cold- ice forming along the trees and grass heading straight towards me from behind or how the ground started to shake and rise.

I suddenly felt a cold slippery patch of ice that sent me sliding across the slick ground until I crashed into an old thick tree, yelping as pain shot up through my back leg. I had no time to recover before the ground underneath me shifted then wrapped itself tightly around my body, causing another yelp of pain followed by a threatening growl that rumbled deeply from my chest.

“Little wolf~Little wolf~” a smooth voice called out from the darkness, I heard two sets of footsteps approaching, my heart racing, it couldn’t be-

“Why are you by yourself sweet pup? I thought you were smarter than that. Getting careless, are we? It’s been so long, let’s play~” cooed the sweet voice as the two figures stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight, I felt my heart stop in cold dread. No… **No**!

The one who had spoken had frost blue hair and icy blue eyes. His skin pale, his right eyebrow pierced and three scars over his left eye. I could see the burned set of numbers on the top front of his right his shoulder ‘99’

The man beside him remained silent, he had short black hair with emerald green eyes. The middle part of his lip heart shaped lips pierced as well as several piercings on both ears. He also had a set of numbers burned into his neck, just below his jar ‘12’

Despite how tightly the ground was wrapped around my body, I was able to shift back into human form. Speechless as I stared at the pair who were so familiar, yet I knew only brought with them danger and pain. Our worst fears coming true as I stared them down

“X-Xiümin…D.Ø…” I gritted out, forcing back the bile had started to rise in my throat. I shouldn’t have left the compound; I should have stayed with Baekhyun. I was such a fool and had no one but my self to blame for being so reckless.

**I fucked up…I really fucked up.**

_________________________________________________________________


	4. Damage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first of many battles ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lovelies! A double post this week! I had a burst of focus and energy so I decided to write out another chapter. I still feel a bit rusty writing certain scenes but I hope it wasn't to bad and that you're enjoying the story so far. Thank you for all the love and support and I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. Thank you so much🖤🖤

** Luhan POV **

He wasn’t sure how many shots he had downed since locking himself in his room, the news they had all received earlier still searing within his frazzled mind. The doe-eyed man had tried desperately to reach out to any of three, but no matter how hard he concentrated he was met only with silence. Wherever Kris, Tao and Sehun where they were too far for him to form a mental link…that or they-

**No**

Luhan refused to even entertain the thought that they were dead. His jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth setting up another shot, clearly, he wasn’t drunk enough because these thoughts where still consuming him, everything was too loud, and it was moments like this he wished he wasn’t able to hear the thoughts of others, sometimes no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t drown them out.

Those fucking idiots, when they found them- and so help him, they would- he was going to kill them himself for stressing him out so much. His long fingers wrapped tightly around the small shot glass as he threw back another one, feeling the warmth of the liquid burn down his throat. He felt as his head started to become mercifully fuzzy, the thoughts and loud voices echoing inside starting to fade into a distant static.

Slowly his eyes drifted shut, body releasing the stressful tension that it had been locked in since the meeting. Even if it was just for this moment, Luhan allowed himself the numbness and drifted off into a dreamless, restless slumber. His heart still aching in grief no matter how hard he tried to numb it.

_______________________________________________

Suddenly the deer-like man had startled awake, his eyes blearily scanning his darkened room. He couldn’t remember what it was that had caused him to startle awake, but it left him feeling a haunting sense of panic and dread. 

His head pounded from the amount of alcohol he had drowned himself in, slowly he blindly searched for his phone, eyes wincing as he checked his screen for the time. Only an hour had passed since he first dropped into an alcohol-induced sleep, it was still to early to be up, being it was 4:30am.

“fucking hell…” He cursed lowly; voice rough with sleep as he face planted back into his pillow. Trying to allow sleep to claim him once more. Until he heard a voice softly calling him repeatedly, Luhan leaned on his elbows as his eyes scanned them room, he was obviously still alone but he kept feeling something- someone pestering in the back of his mind.

He tried to focus, his mind still fuzzy and the voice was muffled by the static in his mind. He could feel the rising panic and pain, emotions that weren’t his own. He quickly sat up in his bed, ignoring the wave of dizziness that passed through him.

He rubbed his face roughly, eyes clenching shut as he pushed through the static and focused, suddenly the faint voice echoing in the back of his mind becoming crystal clear and his heart jolted in fear as he listened;

**“ngh…Luhan! I don’t know if you can hear me, please if you hear this…We have a problem-“** The voice was breathless and pained, Luhan instantly recognized that it was Scarlett

“Scarlett? Where are you? what’s going on?” he asked urgently, Last he knew everyone had gone back to the dorms when they were dismissed, why was she alone? Why wasn’t Baekhyun with her?

**“I…went for a run, into the forest, I don’t know how far I am now but…Damn it, Luhan I fucked up”** the voice suddenly cut off, Luhan tried to hold onto the connection, but it was starting to waver and fade again, the light brown-haired man was already up and out the door “Scarlett, Scarlett!”

**“Xiümin…D.Ø…here…I-“** He only heard bits and pieces before the connection was cut off completely, he felt cold dread settle over him, as he was stumbling down the quiet hallway he came crashing into another body before they both tumbled to the ground.

Groaning slightly, his eyes squinted in irritation with the bright lighting. Yoongi groaned, rubbing his head before shooting the older man an annoyed look for crashing into him.

“What the hell, who lit your pants on fire?” he snarked, right now Luhan had no time to snap back, as Yoongi’s gaze met his own, he quickly furrowed his brows, tilting his head

“What’s wrong? Has something happened?” he asked, as we both slowly stood up dusting ourselves off. Luhan frown, biting his lip in hesitation, he didn’t want to get everyone involved, his main focus was trying to get to Baekhyun most of all, but…with the bits and pieces he gathered all of their fears had come true.

Somehow, some way, Xiümin and D.Ø had found there way back to earth- and now Scarlett was facing both of them alone and possibly injured. She was strong, but not even she could beat them both if she was already injured. he couldn’t waste any time, and right now he was in no condition to get to her fast enough, let alone try and fight two of the Red Force.

Luhan cursed himself for all those shots he took, making him utterly useless when someone else he cared about was in danger. “Scarlett…she, she’s in trouble” his words slurred slightly, the quiet man before him narrowed his eyes slightly but it looked like he believed his Hyung nonetheless

“She had made mental link earlier, but we lost the connection. From what I was able to hear though was that she had gone for a run in the woods, but that Xiümin and D.Ø suddenly appeared. I think she’s injured, I was on my way to get Baek-“ Before he even finished his rushed sentence, Yoongi had already took off running,

“Go get Baekhyun, I’m heading out first. We can’t waste anymore time” and with that the pale man had disappeared into the shadows. Luhan continued down the hall towards Baekhyun’s dorm, He knew that the usually sweet and puppy like man wasn’t going to handle this news well, and god help anyone who gets in his way when he was angry. 

** Yoongi POV **

Shadows that were luminated around the trees and ground of the forest suddenly swirled together creating a large singular shadow, expanding as Yoongi quickly stepped out of the shadow-made portal. As soon as she stepped through, the shadows had dispersed going back to there original forms and placement.

The burgundy haired man frowned as he scanned his surroundings. Already he shuddered at the piercing coldness that surrounded him. Both the ground beneath him and the trees that surrounded the area was completely frozen in thick ice and frost. Different patches of ground disturbed from it’s original form, ground broken up in huge chunks and trees once thickly rooted into the earth uprooted tossed aside like they were twigs.

He cautiously followed the trail of frost, his stomach churned uneasily as he spotted splatters of blood along the way, along with different markings, slashes from what looked like claws, broken tree limbs from being hastily climbed and a couple different animal footsteps. No doubt coming from the shifter he knew well.

He took a steadying breath as he hurried forward, straining his ears for sign of movement around him. The deeper he moved through the forest, the darker it became as the tangle of trees thickened, blocking out the little light the moon had allowed.

For Yoongi though, he thrived in the shadows so it didn’t do much to deter him. He hoped it would be a hinderance to the two Red Force members though. He whipped his gaze towards the sudden sound of a fierce growl, followed by the cracking of trees and earth shifting high towards the sky.

Without a moment of hesitation, he ran towards the fight that was still ensuing. As he reached a small clearing his gaze immediately landed on his teammate, At the moment she hadn’t used a full shift, though she did have attributes of the current animal’s power she was connected with. Her pupils were sharper, her nails resembled claws as she effortlessly dodged attack after attack, her speed out doing the two x-members even though she was clearly injured.

Her right leg had a long deep gash that start at the top of her calf all the way down to her ankle. She had multiple cuts and bruises that formed along her face and arms, and she was clutching her side, her ribs possible broken.

Yoongi tried to remain unseen, He had only one chance for an ambush that could give himself and Scarlett enough time to escape. He slowly and quietly crouched down low as he neared the raging battle, both Xiümin and D.Ø themselves had been injured but it did little to slow them down.

While the emerald eyed man remained focused and undeterred, his expression emotionless. His frost haired companion had a childlike glee in his expression, sweet laughter bubbling out of him that held a dangerous malicious. 

“Come on, little one, why don’t you just come quietly with us? We’ll get in a lot of trouble if we bring you back to bloodied up” The elder of the two x-members cooed softly, his lips forming a pout as more ice continued to form into sharp spears around him.

The silver-eyed female growled lowly, eyes fierce despite the fatigue starting to settle in. her usual calm and kind soothing attitude replaced with a masked hardness in her expression. She lunged towards D.Ø, she was too faster for the earth user as her claws dug deep into his shoulders, locking into the muscle as they both tumbled down to the ground, the black-haired male grunted in pain, his hands reaching out to try and pry the younger girl off of him.

Yoongi felt a lump form in his throat, Scarlett had been so busy with D.Ø she had made the mistake of ignoring his teammate, who has a sharp spear of ice formed within his grip, his pale arm reaching high into the air before thrusting downward towards the shifter.

He moved without thinking, no longer worrying about an ambush, he just needed to reach her before she was dealt a fatal blow-

His pale hands reached out, the shadow from underneath following his movement until it clasped tightly onto the ice-users shadows, his shadows hand gripping onto the arm of the shadow that held the ice spear. This caused Xiümin’s hand to halt abruptly, just a few inched from Scarlett’s back,

Scarlett had quickly detached herself from D.Ø, sending the man flying back harshly colliding with a thick tree- he had hit it with such force it had ended up snapping in half, part of it falling onto him trapping him underneath. He cursed lowly in pain.

Scarlett whirled around, breaths coming out in shirt ragged puffs as her eyes landed on Yoongi, relief that Luhan had been able to make out enough of her message before their connection had been cut.

“Yoongi…” She panted softly, Yoongi- who still held tightly onto the icy blue eyed man’s shadow- gave her a small, but genuine smile in return. “I’m sorry I’m late. When I ran into Luhan it was hard to make out what he was saying, I think he was having a major hangover” he rolled his eyes. “nevertheless, I’m thankful you came when you did.” She replied, somewhat sheepishly, no doubt knowing when they got out of this, she was in for a longer lecture from Junmyeon and most likely Baekhyun. He could practically hear his puppy-like whine.

“Aw…How sweet, is your sweet puppy boyfriend worried about you Scarlett?” Xiümin cooed mockingly, eyes holding mirthless glee. His gaze then returned to yoongi, he struggled trying to break his hold on his shadow.

“Both you and Süga have annoying abilities. Such a pain” He complained, Yoongi flinched hearing the name of his x-self, he gritted his teeth, his grip tightening even more on the others shadow.

“How are you able to get back to earth? Your lot are the ones taking our members, right? Where are they? Tell us, now” he seethed, anger rising. He was only met with a smirk

“wouldn’t you like to know? But that would make it to easy for you, hm? Besides, if you’re already getting so worked up over some missing members…well…you haven’t seen anything yet” he finished, his smirk forming as his words caused anxiety to settle in both Yoongi and Scarlett, they both shared a quick look of unease.

Suddenly the ground around Yoongi and Scarlett began to shift and quake, causing Yoongi to lose his hold, setting him free, the elder smirked before launching the ice spear he still had in his hands, heading straight for Yoongi-

Until he found himself pushed to the ground, Scarlett shielding his body protectively with her own taking the brunt of the attack. She screamed out in pain, the ice cutting through her flesh, it was so cold it burned her skin as it ripped through her shoulder.

She was unable to hold her semi-shifted form any longer, returning to her normal form. She gritted her teeth but the exhaustion and pain setting in was to much and soon she lost consciousness. Yoongi cursed to himself for not moving sooner, he stepped in front of her as shadows rose from the ground and encased her, shielding her from any more danger.

Preparing for another attack, he was surprised when D.Ø suddenly held up his hand, halting the older of the two from making another move. Xiümin frowned, eyes questioning the sudden motives.

“we’ve run out of time, and I hear movement closing in on our area. We’ll have to finish this another time, Hyung” he replied almost monotonously though his eyes betrayed the fatigue that was hidden deep within, almost as if it pained them to remain here any longer. Xiümin pouted slightly but agreed nonetheless

“Well, it seems we’ll have to finish this game next time. I do hope we didn’t cause the little pup to much pain” he gestured to Scarlett’s unconscious form, yoongi nearly snarled in anger, if he was getting this angry, he’d hate to imagine how Baekhyun would have reacted if he was here in this moment. 

“Shut the fuck up, you don’t get to call her anything. If you think I’m just going to let you both run off-“ his words were cut off though, as suddenly from behind the two x-members the air sparked and crackled, a split forming from thin air the grew larger until it was big enough for someone to step through.

Wordlessly D.Ø had jumped through, Yoongi wasn’t able to see much of what was on the other side but the skies looked to be a deep blood red and the sun burned a fiery smoldering black. It set his nerves of edge from just the small glimpse of what had to be their dimension. 

“Sorry we had to end this so soon, Don’t worry…we’ll send the others your love~” His icy eyes held a dangerous glint, yet his smile was sweet and deceiving. He spared Scarlett one more glance “He’s not going to be happy we failed to get her, D.Ø-ah” he muttered darkly before disappearing into the same opening.

Before Yoongi could even move a muscle as soon as they both had stepped through the opening closed. Disappearing out of thin air as if it had never been there in the first place. He glared at the offending area they had just been in moments before, his mind felt fried at the overwhelming information he was trying to process.

For now, that had to wait, He needed to get Scarlett to Yixing. Carefully he scooped up the thin girl in his arms, trying not to jostle her around to much. He heard a twig snap from behind them, heart pumping at the thought of another attack, his shadows swirled around him dangerously, ready to strike-

“Scarlett! Yoongi!” A panicked voice cried out, instantly yoongi relaxed his shoulders. Baekhyun ran into the clearing, nearly slipping on the ice that was rapidly melting since Xiümin’s departure. His gaze landed on Scarlett and bursts of light sparked around him, eyes blazing in anger.

“Hyung” Yoongi muttered softly, walking towards him carefully, “I know you’re upset- I get it- but they are gone, there’s nothing we can do at the moment except focusing on getting her to Yixing” he urged calmly.

Baekhyun bit into his lip harshly, shutting his eyes tightly as he reigned himself back in, the light slowly dimming back down within him. Once he had calmed down enough, he gestured for Yoongi to let him hold the silver-eyed girl, which yoongi complied easily. 

“Ready?” Yoongi asked, to which Baekhyun nodded his head stiffly, his grip around Scarlett tightening in protectiveness and anger- at himself, at those who hurt her, at this whole situation. He’d have to sort with that later though, the younger was right, they had to get her to Yixing first. Yoongi’s pale fingers gripped onto Baekhyun’s shoulder firmly, shadows reaching over the two men before rising swallowing the three of them into the shadows and away from the destroyed battle ground the forest had become.

**_This was just the beginning…_ **


	5. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Hope everyone is having a safe and happy Holiday and Christmas Eve, Hope you enjoy the chapter and thank you again for all the love and support on this story! Sorry for any mistakes in the chapter, I'll look through it later, I'm so tired my eye sight is blurry right now 😭🖤

** Baekhyun POV **

_His gaze followed Scarlett intently until she had disappeared into the elevator, the doors sliding shut and she had finally disappeared from him sight. A worried frown settled across his expression, a gnawing feeling he couldn’t shake, he wanted to follow her-_

_Not that he didn’t trust her, but he wanted to make sure she was safe. He stood rooted to his spot, debating whether or not he should, In the end though he decided against it. He respected that she need time alone to process this and didn’t want to push her father away by going against her wishes._

_Slowly he made his way back to his dorm room, shutting the door softly. Baekhyun ran his fingers through his hair restlessly as he collapsed back onto the unmade bed, lazily toeing off his shoes and kicking them to the corner of the bedpost so no one would trip over them later one- or so he wouldn’t, to be exact._

_He stared aimlessly at the ceiling; his gaze distant as he processed what had happened tonight. His heart weighed heavily at the thought of Kris, Tao and Sehun. All people he cared for deeply, they were his brothers and the thought of them being taken- not knowing if they were still dead or alive…_

_He swallowed thickly as he blinked away a few stray tears. Why couldn’t they all get a break? After everything that had happened and what it took to seal Red Force away in the first place had costs them so much. He was tired, of the constant darkness hovering over all of them, despite all their efforts never truly feeling safe or free from the past that constantly lurked just out of their reach._

_He eyelids felt heavy and soon he was no longer able to fight off the drop of energy as the adrenaline from earlier seeped out of his system. As he drifted off into a fitful sleep still unable to shake off the feeling of foreboding that took root within him._

______________________________________________________________________________

_The sound of someone hurriedly banging on his door jolted him awake, he felt a shock rip through his body as his eyes wildly scanned the room-_

_Scarlett still wasn’t back and his anxiety skyrocketed as he stumbled out of bed, Swinging open the door with such force it nearly left a hole in the wall. He came face to face with a shaky Luhan who was holding himself up by leaning on the doorpost._

_“Hyung, what’s wrong?” He asked, his hands reaching out to keep him from falling over. The older of the two waved him off hurriedly, trying to stabilize his breathing before clutching onto Baekhyun’s hoodie, voice strained and slightly slurred- no doubt he had been drinking, not that anyone could have blamed him._

_“Scarlett…forest….Yoongi went-“ Baekhyun was only able to grasp bits and pieces but he felt cold dread gripping onto him tightly, He cupped Luhan’s face with his hands locking his gaze with doe-eyed ones “Luhan, Breathe. I can’t understand what your saying” he tried to reassure his Hyung. After a few steadying breathes the elder gently pulled back from his grasp, suddenly his expression much more sober then it had been just a few moments ago._

_“Scarlett formed a mental link with me, she was in the forest on a run but then…Baekhyun-ah, two of them appeared. She said Xiümin and D.Ø appeared- out of nowhere- she sounded injured- So I ran to get you but I ran into Yoongi on the way, so he was already heading towards the forest.” He explained,_

_It felt like my heart froze, in fear and anger. Without a moment’s hesitation I haphazardly threw my shoes back on while rushing out of the room, my focus hyper aware one person only- Scarlett- I couldn’t let her be taken- I couldn’t lose her._

_I just couldn’t, it’d utterly destroy me._

_“Luhan, wake up Junmyeon and get Yixing ready just incase” I shout over my shoulder as I bounded towards the compound exit. The way my heartbeat continued to rise should have been worrying but I only pushed on faster, running across the open field towards the entrance of the forest._

_‘I’m such an idiot!’ Baekhyun mentally berated himself, he knew he should’ve gone with her, better yet he should have convinced her to stay- stay with him where it was safe. Now she was alone, injured dealing with to Red Force members, which from experience they all knew how dangerous they were in combat._

_He felt the crushing weight of self-loathing, helplessness and fear suffocating him from within. If anything happened to the silver-eyed girl- or if she was taken- he’d blame no one but himself. The fact that two of them were here, back on earth, meant Scarlett was right-no surprise- and somehow, they were getting back to earth and taking their friends-there family._

_By the time he made it into the forest, it was ominously dark the trees above blocking out the moonlight. He focused for a moment as orbs of light formed within his hands before letting them drift up above him, bathing his surrounding in a soft light- so he wouldn’t tip of his enemy where he was should they be lying in wait._

_Taking longer than he’d like, He finally found signs of a fight- Ice patches slowly melting along the ground, trees slashed up or even some broken- When he saw blood splatters his stomach churned nauseously, but he hurried on since time was of the essence._

_As he ran through the forest hurriedly, he noticed how quiet it was- too quiet. The only sound that could be heard was his heavy breathing, the light orbs following through the air as he continued to search frantically, straining his ear for-_

_He stopped abruptly, Suddenly angry shouts breaking the silence among the dark forest. He instantly recognized the voice as Yoongi’s. He whirled around and followed the direction the voices were coming from. Rushing by bushes and tree branches so fast they nicked his skin but his adrenaline was so high he didn’t notice in the slightest._

_Just as he rushed into the clearing the battle had created he faltered, there stepping into some kind of portal he saw the backside of D.Ø , his heart was hammering so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if it beat its way out of his ribcage. Xiümin had said something to yoongi but he couldn’t catch what he said, just as the frost blue-haired man was turning to follow after his teammate, his gaze met Baekhyun’s and for a split moment a malicious grin spread across his face before he winked and jumped through the opening that hung tearing through the air_

Both himself and yoongi had no chance to react before it closed completely and the two had disappeared. Bringing himself out of the daze he felt when finally laying his own two eyes on the very people they thought they had sealed away permanently sent a jolt of anguish through him. He hadn’t doubted Scarlett before but seeing it for himself set a dreaded reality that none of them had wanted to face.

_“Scarlett! Yoongi!” he cried out as he made his way into the clearing, for a moment he saw Yoongi’s body tense, his shadows ready for another attack but when the younger saw it was him, his body had immediately sagged with relief while still holding the unconscious girl tightly in his arms._

_He noted that yoongi was covered in multiple slash words and a black eye was already forming under his right eye nearly covering the whole side of his face. Scarlett however-_

_He wanted to cry when he saw her, cuts and cruises littering all over her face and arms, a deep long cut along her right leg from her calf all the way down to her ankle. He noticed Yoongi avoiding the right side of her ribcage, so he assumed she also had bruised, maybe broken, ribs. Then her shoulder that had been pierced through completely, whatever had pierced her left it ragged, ripping its way through._

_He felt his rage boiling over, at himself at the X-members, at the whole damn world. He’d never forgive himself for letting her out of his sight tonight, he felt so utterly useless._

_“Hyung” Yoongi’s tired voice cut through his self-loathing as he made his way over with Scarlett in his arms._

_“I know you’re upset-I get it-but they’re gone, there’s nothing else we can do at this moment, except focusing and getting her to Yixing” Yoongi urged calmly, grounding Baekhyun once more. He was right, he had already failed her so much tonight, but he wasn’t going to allow anything else to harm her._

_He gestured for the other to let him hold her, carefully Yoongi transferred to his arms trying not to jostle her to much. Baekhyun held her close to his chest, placing a feather light kiss to her forehead. “Ready?” Yoongi asked to which Baekhyun nodded his head stiffly._

_The burgundy haired boy placed his hand grimly on Baekhyun’s shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment in concentration before the three of them were swallowed by shadows taking them away from the destroyed forest._

________________________________________________________

As soon as the three of them emerged from the shadows, Yoongi had brought them directly to the medical bay where Yixing, Luhan and Junmyeon had rushed to them, anxiety clear on their faces. “Lay her down, quickly” Yixing instructed gently, but a clear undertone of worry laced his voice.

Baekhyun was hesitant to let her go, He knew he was being irrational, he couldn’t help it. Carefully he laid her down on the medical bed and stepped away giving Yixing enough room.

“Yoongi, you should get healed as well-“ Junmyeon had started but had been waved off, “Worry about Scarlett right now. Yixing shouldn’t waste his energy on me” he simply stated. Baekhyun gave him a disapproving look. “First of all, it’s not a waste Yoongi-ah, Luhan, can you call Taeyong to meet us here? He can heal Yoongi while Yixing works on Scarlett” Yoongi began to object, but kept his mouth shut at Baekhyun’s unusual stormy gaze. Luhan- who was now painfully sober- nodded silently as he focused on creating a mind link with Taeyong.

After a few moments he reopened his eyes “Alright, he’s on his way. I asked him not to tell the others what happened so that they don’t all barge their way into here” he mused slightly, even Yoongi cracked a smile at that.

“Thanks Hyung” he said softly directing it to both Luhan and Baekhyun before laying himself down on one of the other empty cots, his exhaustion weighing heavily as his adrenaline from before started to fade.

Baekhyun was too focused as he watched Yixing, who had started on her worst wound- her shoulder- he kept his eyes closed as he focused, laying his hand gently over the wound site. A soft glow surrounded himself and slowly over Scarlett’s body, the smaller wounds such as cuts and bruises started to slowly fade, while the more serious such as her shoulder leg and ribs would still take him some time. 

No one spoke so he could focus, the doors opened quietly as Taeyong stepped into the room, his gaze landed on Scarlett for a brief moment and a frown tugged at his lips. Quietly he made his way over to Yoongi. Who thankfully didn’t have as extensive wounds like Scarlett did. Though Taeyong could clearly see how drained the pale man was.

Closing his eyes, he focused on not only his cuts and bruises that were forming but also helping to replenish the energy he spent from the fight. A soft amber glow spread across Yoongi’s body, it felt like someone was wrapping a heated blanket around his sore and battered body, his eyes felt heavy and his body let go of the last remaining tension before he slipped quietly into a dreamless sleep.

When Taeyong was done, he removed Yoongi’s combat boots gently then tucked him in with the soft blanket, turning off the over-head light that was above the bed. “Rest well, Hyung” she whispered before making his way to the others,

Yixing was still focused on repairing the internal damage, and he could tell it was draining the dimpled man, His gaze fell towards Baekhyun, who was uncharacteristically solemn, his eyes never leaving Scarlett for even a moment. Junmyeon stood back along with Luhan to give them space, but the leader also was lost in thoughts, brows furrowed.

while Luhan rubbed his forehead repeatedly trying to fight off the migraine that was pounding away inside his head. “Do you want me to take care of it?” Taeyong asked kindly, the older of the two shook his head “no, but thanks Tae” he replied, giving a small smile in response. “You might need to help Yixing finish up, so I don’t want to over work you either.”

Taeyong nodded in understanding, before turning towards Yixing “Hyung, why don’t you let me take care of the smaller external wounds, you focus on the internal. Okay?” he asked but didn’t bother for a reply as he stood on the other side of the bed, repeating the process as the healing glow around Scarlett increased and shone brightly in the dimly lit room.

He had so many questions but knew now was definitely not the time to voice any of them. So he along with his Hyung focused on the task at hand.

____________________________________________________________

It had taken a few hours to make sure that they had caught everything during her healing, Luckily she had been brought to them quickly enough that there wasn’t any long lasting damage, however she would surely feel sore and fatigued for at least a few days.

Both Taeyong and Yixing were exhausted, but in good spirits since both her and Yoongi weren’t in any danger now. Afterwards silver-haired man had also helped Luhan with his worsening migraine-much to the older mans chagrin- But despite his ‘manly’ persona, he had immediately fallen asleep on another of the cots afterwards.

“Yixing, Taeyong” Baekhyun spoke for the first time since bringing her in along with Yoongi, the two tiredly turn their attention to the puppy-eyed member, He jaw was set tight as he remained by Scarlett’s side, his hand holding onto hers tenderly.

He sighed wearily before looking up to the pair, a strained smile in place but eyes genuine “Thank you, for all you did tonight” His voice wavered slightly before he cleared his throat. Yixing placed a reassuring hand on the younger, smile tired but warm nonetheless.

“No need to thank us, Baekhyun-ah, she’s a sister to us. Yoongi a brother as well, we’d do anything in our power to help all of you. No matter what” His hand squeezed Baekhyun’s shoulder, he could feel the conflict within him but didn’t comment on it, he understood exactly how he felt.

Junmyeon finally stood from the chair he had occupied for the last couple of hours, his gaze scanning all of them before rubbing his eyes that burned with exhaustion. “Considering that the two who actually encountered the x-members are out of commission for the moment, as well as Luhan- and that it looks Yixing and Taeyong are about to collapse were their standing- Let’s wait until everyone is properly rested until we discuss what happened.”

“Until they wake up, No one is to tell the others what has happened tonight, alright? I’d prefer not to deal with a mob scene at the moment, without knowing exactly what happened.” To this, everyone agreed easily.

“Baekhyun, I know trying to get you to leave her side will be pointless-“ he shot him a pointed look before continuing “Just, please get some rest okay? You can push one of the others beds next to hers if you need to. But wearing you self out is only going to make her upset.” He finished calmly, bidding all of them good night-though it they could see that the sky was already brightening in the horizon- and disappeared out of the room.

“Myself or Taeyong will be back in a few hours to check on you all, alright? Please do get some rest though” he said softly, ruffling his hair- Baekhyun at let out a noise of protest- as he and Taeyong had made their way out of the room, turning off the lights before gently closing the door.

Baekhyun let out a deep weary sigh, standing and stretching his cramped limbs. He grabbed a few extra blankets, tucking them in around Scarlett tenderly, knowing she was always cold, then carefully climbed into the bed with her, shifting her so that her head was resting on his chest as he wrapped his arms protectively around her- though not tight enough to accidently hurt her- he pressed his lips to the crown of her head and finally-hidden within the darkness of the medical bay-he allowed his tears to flow freely as his heart ached painfully.

__________________________________________________________________

** D.Ø POV **

As soon as the pair were back on X-planet, he felt pain radiating throughout his body. They could never stay long on Earth without it causing problems, much to their displeasure. He always loathed this planet, the skies always a dark blood red, the clouds and sky pitch black as it burned in fiery black flames, even the moon shined black with an outer glow around the surface.

“Well, that didn’t goes as planned” Xiümin muttered tiredly, his jaw set tight, it was one thing if they had failed to bring back anyone else, but with this time it had been a personal request, and they both dreaded to tell them they had failed to do so.

“No point in avoiding the inevitable” D.Ø grunted softly, his limbs felt like lead and with how Xiümin was walking beside him, he knew he wasn’t fairing much better. Slowly they made their way back to Red Force, it was so late that thankfully they were greeted only by silence, their footsteps echoing softly through the empty hallways. He always hated the pure white facility, it reminded him nothing but pain. 

“Finally back I see…It doesn’t usually take you so long” A soft broke through the darkened silence, both Xiümin and D.Ø came to a halt as the figure stepped out from the shadows, his pale skin and pure snowy white hair seemed to glow through the darkness, his icy blue eyes looking over the pair,

“You know staying to long can be deadly for us right now…” He muttered as he stepped closer “You’re both injured…Are you alright?”

“Ah…Yeah, we’ll be fine Baëkhyun…we ran to unexpected problems when we went to confront her…Yoongi showed up…” D.Ø trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

Xiümin pouted slightly “It was taking to long…our time was over so we had to retreat for now…However, as we were leaving I also got a glimpse of Baek” a small smirk graced the frost-haired man before a soft sigh, a genuine expression crossing over his features "We’re sorry Baëkhyun...We failed-“ before he could finished Baekhyun simply shook his head

“Don’t worry about it, the time will come where we will bring her to our world, When we do, Our plan officially begins. No one will stop us, certainly not that weak version of myself” He paused briefly, his eyes flicking up towards the security cameras that always watched their every single move, hatred filled his eyes icy eyes as he thought about who it was behind said cameras.

He shook his head, “For now, go and rest. Wake up Ląy if you need to, Taęyöng over-used his powers earlier to leave him be.” With that he turned away from the pair, walking away and out of sight. Lost in thought a mirthless smile spread across his pale face, the delegate chain that hung across his face-hiding the angry red scar underneath- glinting softly.

**_“I’ll be seeing you soon, little dove~”_ **


	6. 내가 미쳐 (Going Crazy)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I finished this sooner then I thought so I just decided to post it now, Hope everyone is having a safe and healthy start to their New Year. take care of yourselves, okay?🖤🖤

** Baekhyun Pov **

Several days had passed- several long, draining days that he had to drag himself through without losing his sanity- or his temper. He was angry at no one but himself…well, he also held anger to those that were the cause of this, to be quite honest, anger was putting it mildly.

Baekhyun also felt crushing self-loathing and guilt weighing him down heavily, He should have kept her safe that night. None of this should be happening, those people shouldn’t have been here-

**_No._ **

He couldn’t allow himself to spiral like this.

He sighed softly as he made his way back down to the medical bay, after being forced-he had practically been dragged out of the medical bad- by Yixing to leave in order to get something to eat and drink under the hawk like eyes of his Hyung, then tossed into the bathroom for a shower. which Baekhyun had ended up accomplishing in record time in order to get back to Scarlett.

Thankfully both Yoongi and Luhan had been discharged from the medical bay the morning after the incident, and even though Scarlett had yet to wake up, both Yixing and Taeyong had assured the puppy-eyed man that she was fine, but it was simply her bodies way of dealing with exhaustion. <.p>

Even before what had happened, he knew that she barely slept as it was. Always being plagued by nightmares, and so he begrudgingly agreed that even though it was torture waiting for her to wake up, she needed the rest desperately.

Finally, as he quietly made his way back in the darkened room, he immediately went to her side, he held out his hand as an orb of light formed and dimly lit the dark room with a soft warm glow then proceeded to crawl back into the bed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to his body-honestly resembling that of a koala on a tree- pressing his lips to her forehead in soft feather-light kisses.

“Please, wake up soon, love.”

____________________________________________

** Scarlett pov **

Her body felt heavy and a deep ache had settled deep within her bones, her throat felt as dry as the desert. She felt something warm encasing her and keeping her pinned to that spot. Slowly, the silver-eyed girl opened her eyes, trying to blink away the fog that hovered in her mind, for a moment her heart jolted in panic, memories flashing quickly, where was she- had she been captured? Had Yoongi?-

As soon as her eyes flicked up and landed on the person beside her, her heart slowed from its erratic pace. There in the dimly lit room laid Baekhyun, even in his slumber pressing her close to his body tightly- as if in fear that when he’d awake, she’d be gone. His face was pressed against the juncture between her neck and shoulder, his soft warm puffs of breath tickling her skin and causing her to squirm at the sensation. Carefully, she wiggled her arms from his vice-like grip, managing to scoot her body up into a sitting position. Glancing around she realized they were in the medical bay, the lights all turned off except for the orb of light dimly hovering over them.

A somber smile graced her lips, He always used his own light, knowing how harsh the black-haired girl found other light sources to be- Baekhyun was always thinking about her, it made her heart ache painfully, the guilt rising.

“Baek…” she called softly, running her fingers through his damp strands. Idiot, he never dried his hair properly. He was going to get himself sick one day. Gently she pinched his cheek, calling out once more.

“Baekhyun, wake up” as she pinched a bit harder, he whined softly, blindly swatting at the source that was trying to disrupt his sleep. Through his muddled thoughts he had no doubt it must have been Chanyeol or Jongdae trying to bother him-

Irritably, his eyes shot open, ready to tear either men a new one- He froze when his gaze met hers, processing for a moment what he was actually seeing before scrambling up into a sitting position, arms instinctively reaching out for her.

“How long have you been up? Are you okay-do you want some water?- I should go get Yixing-“ He began to rattle off different questions in rapid-fire causing a small-but genuine- huff of laughter to escape Scarlett’s lips. She cupped his cheeks with her hands lightly before pressing her lips against his-

Effectively cutting off his spiraling ramble. It was a gentle and soft kiss- offering warmth and safety, reassuring to both that they were together and that they were okay-

**They were alive.**

Reluctantly, she pulled away from his cloud like lips, her face flushed slightly since she was never usually so bold to initiate acts-such as kissing- herself, the shier of the two. While Baek on the other hand never shied away from wanting to touch and display his affection-no matter who was there to witness it.

Baekhyun gazed into her eyes silently for a moment, his thumb rubbing soft soothing circles into the side of her cheek,

“How are you feeling?” he asked after a moment of silence passed between them, to which she simply sighed, shaking her head- she felt annoyed with herself- while Baekhyun was no doubt blaming himself for what had happened, she felt she was the one who was truly to be blamed.

“Groggy...a bit sore, but compared to the wounds I remembered receiving….well, I really owe Yixing” she mumbled, already planning on buying the dimpled man his favorite candy and fruits. He always loved sweets of all kinds.

“I’m so sorry” Baekhyun whispered brokenly, biting into his lip harshly to keep the tears that threaten to appear at bay. “I should have gone with you- I should have kept you from leaving at all-“

“This isn’t your fault, don’t even go there Baek” Scarlett cut him off firmly, running her thin fingers through his still damp but soft hair before her hands slid back to his face, holding his face gently

“We didn’t know what was going to happen- that those two would come so close to the base…I should have known better. This is without a doubt though-

“ not” She leaned in, ghosting her lips against his left cheek.

“your.” Another kiss placed on his right cheek.

“fault” the last kiss placed on the tip of his nose, sighing deeply before resting her head right over where his heart rested beneath his ribcage. Taking comfort in listening to the steady beat of his heart,

The two just held each other in the dimly lit room, enjoying the comfortable silence that surrounded them. In this moment, in their little bubble, they were okay. Nothing could hurt them, and though they both knew it was only a brief solace, they clung to it for as long as they could.

_________________________________________

After the pair had their moment of quiet together, they knew they had to alert the others since Scarlett was awake now, and time was of the essence. So now after another half an hour had passed with Yixing checking her over- much to the females’ constant protest- all those who had been involved that night gathered back in the medical bay.

“Well, from what I see, thankfully there’s been no lasting effects from your fight. Like I told the others, it’s good that Yoongi and Baekhyun got you here when they did.” He smiled softly, ruffling Scarlett’s hair gently to which she huffed and swatted his hand away- trying and failing to hide her smile from his brotherly affection.

“Thank you Yixing…and you as well, Tae” she mumbled softly, after learning that Taeyong had not only assisted in helping Yixing with her but also taking care of Luhan and Yoongi- she also owed the silver haired medic- in fact, she probably owed everyone in this room at this point.

She wanted to scream- or punch, perhaps even claw out- the faces of the two x-members faces in- but for now, she bit her tongue and remained silent.

“No need to thank us, you’re our family- we’d do anything in our power to help all of you” Yixing waved her off as Tae simply smiled in agreement. Junmyeon paced around the room, deep in thought. During the time that Scarlett had been out of commission, the others who hadn’t been involved that night were becoming restless-

And rightfully so. 

“Alright-“ He started, finally coming to a halt in his endless pacing,

“No one outside this room has any idea what happened the other night. Only that several members had gotten hurt and that, for the moment, it was a need-to-know situation.” The leader paused, eyes scanning those in the room,

Yoongi had found his way back to an empty bed, having collapsed onto it the moment he entered the room- that was honestly no surprise though.

Luhan was sprawled out in a chair, staring blankly up at the ceiling, his mind a thousand miles away. Baekhyun and Scarlett both still clung to each other- again no surprise honestly- while Yixing and Taeyong simply sat in some chairs they had pulled up to the others. Everyone- no matter how the expressed it- was feeling the dread, Knowing that the peace we had fought for and obtained- no matter how short it was- was coming to an end though we had no idea what exactly it was.

“So, before we fill in the others-which needs to be soon before someone blows a gasket- I want to hear what happened that night. Scarlett, can we start with you” Junmyeon asked gently as everyone focused on the thin female.

Scarlett bit into her lip-always a bad habit- as she collected her thoughts;

“After we had gotten news about-“ she paused briefly, gaze flickering over Luhan before quickly looking away “The news about who had gone missing” she knew Luhan was struggling and saying their names might set him off, she didn’t want to cause him any more pain then he already felt.<.p>

“After that, when everyone was dismissed for the night, I had decided to go for a run since I was feeling wired and restless. So when I left Baekhyun I went towards the open field…Though I ended up going into the forest that surrounds the base instead.” She sighs deeply, feeling as Baekhyun’s body tenses against her as she recounts her story.

“Long story short, I was ambushed by two x-members, D.Ø and Xiümin. We engaged in a fight. When I was able to, I tried- and succeed- in forming a mental link with Luhan, alerting him to the situation” Junmyeon glances towards said male, who only nodded in agreement with the statement, quietly adding;

“We lost the connection shortly after, I was on my way to get Baekhyun but ran into Yoongi first. So, he went ahead first while I got Baek. Then I went to get you and Yixing” he finished.

“So” Scarlett sighed, “I’m not sure how long the fight ended up lasting, but when Yoongi came, Xiümin tried to strike Yoongi with his ice spear I pushed him out of the way, and that was what caused me to lose consciousness. Next thing I knew, I woke up here” she finished, Yoongi shifted uncomfortably as the image of her shielding his body with her own played through his mind, He had gone there to help her yet she was the one who ended up protecting _him_ .Though he also knew it could have been much worse.

“Yoongi, anything to add?”

“After she passed out, I noticed both the x-members looked like they were struggling…it wasn’t the physical wounds, it was like something was pulling them- whatever it is that has allowed them to come back to earth, It seems there’s a time limit. And going past that limit could have major consequences for them” Yoongi rasped softly, feeling irritation bubbling up inside at the situation.

“That probably explains why sudden energy spikes keep popping up in huge amounts, only to completely disappear without a trace. Whenever it appears it’s never here for long either” Taeyong thought aloud, murmurs of agreement echoing through the room.

“…and…Your sure- your sure you saw Xiümin and D.Ø?” Junmyeon asked though he already knew the answer as both Yoongi and Scarlett confirmed without hesitation. A weary sigh escaped his lips, his hands running through his hair in frustration. 

“Shit”

The others were definitely not going to take this news well. Not well at all. 

_____________________________

** Luhan pov **

Luhan groaned softly, his head feeling like it was going to implode, or that he was going to bash his head in himself if everyone didn’t stop their minds from screaming. Fuck, he could really use a drink right now. 

_Disbelief, Anxiety, Anger, Confusion, Guilt…_

So many fucking thoughts and emotions passing through his mind, it felt like it was about to crack and shatter. How he wished that bratty Sehun was here with him right now, or Kris who always knew what to say, even the ever emotional Tao who made everyone laugh-

Ugh…Luhan knew he was going down a dangerous path, he had to reign himself in. He couldn’t let rage and anger consume him- or he’d be exactly like them- their x-selves. No…He wouldn’t allow them to bring him to their level, so for now he had to suck it up and be strong-

For all those missing, for his teammates with him now- He would be strong.

Not long after the group in the medical bay had finished talking, Junmyeon called a meeting with the rest of the team. As soon as everyone had filed into the large command center upstairs, The leader had forgone beating around the bush and got right to the point. Recounting the whole story so that Scarlett, Yoongi or myself wouldn’t have to again.

Both Kyungsoo and Minseok looked ashen when their x-selves had been mentioned, followed by rising guilt even though they of course were not to blame. I had taken to silently consoling Kyungsoo while Jongdae held Minseok close, his arms wrapped securely around the older male, murmuring soft soothing words, re-affirming it was not his nor Kyungsoo’s fault.

“So…” Lucas softly spoke up after a moment of silence had filled the room as each tried to process what this meant for all of them, “If they have found a way back, even for brief amounts of times…What is our game plan going to be, Hyung?” His question directed towards Junmyeon. Junmyeon sighed before looking each person within that room in the eye, His jaw set tight as he tried to reign in his wild thoughts

“Honestly…I don’t know…” he paused his voice solemn as he rubbed at his eyes irritably “However, we will figure it out and we WILL put an end to this once and for all- one way or another” 

__________________________________________

** Baëkhyun pov **

“We WILL put an end to this once and for all- one way or another” Baëkhyun’s soft voice promised as he paced through the room slowly, gathered with him were those he assembled to prepare for step one of the plan- their plan, not the ones who still foolishly thought they had control over them or the situation.

Briefly his eyes flickered towards one of the many security cameras that always loomed through the labyrinth like facility. Scowling softly before shifting his gaze towards Taø, nodding silently. The younger of the two closed his eyes focusing-

Stopping time around the group, so that everything outside of their little bubble was frozen- unseeing or hearing and they’d never know otherwise.

“Alright, we’re good” The hazel-eyed man replied after a few moments, allowing everyone within the time bubble to allow some of the tension to leave their bodies. There in the group being:

Baëkhyun, Süga, D.Ø, Ląy, Xiümin, Yifān

Lűhan, Sehůn, Suhø, Kāi, Chën, Chanyeøl

Taęyöng, Yukëi, Tæmin, Taø

“Alright, Once start we won’t have much time. Not only is our time limited on their earth but surely our annoying ‘watch dogs’ will start to notice sooner then later that most of us aren’t here.” Baëk started, once again pacing as he gathered his thoughts.

“Those staying here to keep them off our asses-and to alert us if they do find out- Will be Ląy, Taeyong, Yukëi, Tæmin, Taø, Lűhan and Yifān” as each name was called, they would simply nod in agreement.

“It’s important to keep Ląy and Taęyöng out of any possible danger since they’re our healers, Lűhan you’ll be creating a mental link with us so we know what’s happening on both sides at all times.”

“Tæmin, Yukëi and Yifān- you’ll be keeping our little watch dogs busy by raising hell here. Depending on how the situation plays out, Taø we might need you to help extend our time to make sure everyone gets back safely, so don’t use your powers unless told so, okay?” Baëkhyun finished softly, for the moment the usual iciness in his voice left behind, everyone let out murmurs of agreement and so he continued onto the next team,

“Everyone else- myself included- will be on their earth, all of you- except Kāi- will be distracting any of those annoying…weaker selves, that show up. Kāi you’ll be with me so we can get in and out as quickly as possible.” He finished, letting out a deep sigh

Ląy watched silently, concern clear in his gaze as he watched the snowy-white haired man before him, clear murderous glee silently coursing through his body language. Hate, pain…anger, it was consuming the younger male, and lay would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried. Baëkhyun hadn’t always been this way-

But now, he could barely recognize his friend, he didn’t speak his concerns- not with everyone here- he just silently hoped that all this was worth it, because what would be the point to all of this if Baëkhyun lost himself in the end?

It might be foolish, wishful thinking on his part but-

If there was any chance- any at all- that not only them but their original selves would be able to find solace in the end, he hoped for it. He found that the originals and x-selves fighting to be so pointless- both sides were victims. Couldn’t they work together and work towards defeating the true enemy?

For now, the healer kept these feeling close to his guarded heart, silently hoping that yes- this was only the beginning- but for something greater- not for the utter destruction that he saw their path leading them all towards.

“Any questions?” Baëkhyun asked after silence had taken hold of the room, looking over anyone to see if there were any objections. When no one spoke, a soft malicious grin took over his expression- hate seeping into his words as he spoke, his voice soft but laced with deadly intent.

“We will put an end to this, one way or another- all those who have caused us pain and misery, treating us like we’re the monsters- like we’re nothing but stupid lapdogs- They are all going to pay…and this is only the beginning.”


	7. Countdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Sorry it took a bit longer to get this chapter out. Haven't been feeling that well plus got hit with writers block. I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. As always thank you for all the love and support!

A few days had passed since Baëkhyun and the others had finalized their plan, today was finally the day they would put it into action. He found himself pacing once again as time ticked on slowly, too slowly in his opinion. His jaw clenched tightly, his mind whirling in chaos. Today would be their first step- their first true step- towards their freedom. No matter what the cost, no matter what he had to do in the process for it or how blood soaked he might become, Baëkhyun would pay the price for his brothers and all those who caused this would suffer greatly for what they had done to them.

Baëkhyun would make sure of it or die trying.

A soft voice called out his name, breaking the snowy-white haired male out of his spiraling trance, turning his attention towards the voice his gaze landed on Ląy, who watched the younger of the two worriedly, confliction clear in his expression.

“What is it, Ląy-Hyung?” he asked coming to a halt from his restless pacing. The opal eyed male hesitated, his iridescent eyes shining with unnamed emotions before finally speaking

“I’m worried about you” he confessed, slowly stepping closer until he stopped in front of him,

“Baëkhyun-ah, You know I have full faith in you and I will always be by your side, no matter what, but…As I continue to watch, I see you going down a path so dark I fear even your light would not be able to shine in that abyss.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“what I’m trying to say is…I know your heart has always been in the right place but after everything that has happened, your heart- your soul- is being consumed by all the darkness and pain that has plagued us all and if you-our light- is consumed by that darkness, what hope do the rest of us have?”

Ląy sighed deeply, placing his hands on Baëkhyun’s shoulders firmly, eyes pleading

“Just…please, whatever it is inside of you that’s caused you to change so drastically, fight it because I know this isn’t the real you and I can’t bear to watch you condemn yourself” he finished, eyeing him wearily, the pair stood in silence for a few moments, his words sinking in. However, before any response could be offered they were interrupted.

“Everyone’s ready-“ Xiümin stopped, taking in the scene before him “sorry, did I interrupt?” Baëkhyun shook his head, stepping away from Ląy’s grasp, the moment broken- he had to focus.

“No, let’s get started. We won’t have much time when we do”

Silently the three met up with the rest of the group, those going to earth huddled together as Baëkhyun and Xiümin joined them, Ląy hanging back with those who were staying.

“Everyone ready?”

“as ready as we’ll ever be” Suga muttered, followed by murmured agreements. The same opening manifested itself once more, tearing through the air around them and silently each person jumping through one by one, before stepping through Baëkhyun turned his attention back to the group staying

“Remember what I said, Luhan keep me posted everything…Ląy-“ he paused, his icy blue gaze meeting Ląy’s iridescent opal one, he hesitated, battling with himself.

“Thank you” he finally settled on, before following through the portal, it disappearing once he was fully across.

______________________________________

“Looks like we’re in the forest around their facility” D.Ø spoke up after a quick head count had been taken, both D.Ø and Xiümin clearly remembering the area from a few days prior.

“Okay, we’ll split up from here- D.Ø, Chanyeøl, stick together. Xiümin, Süga and Chën will be the next group and then Suhø and Sehůn. Kāi will be with me, alright?” when no one offered disagreements Baekhyun continued,

“Each group spread out, don’t let them be able to flock together like they usually do” he couldn’t suppress an eyeroll at just the thought of them, their weaker selves he likes to call them.

“Your focus is to keep the distracted, it doesn’t matter if you finish or not, ok? If there’s a problem, Lűhan has created a mind link between all of us so just contact using that. We’ll have to meet back- at the latest- an hour. With so many of us here, it’s putting more of a strain on our already limited time frame being here”

Without wasting anymore time, the groups separated.

Time was of the essence 

Yoongi POV

He couldn’t suppress the groan that slipped from his lips, fighting off the urge to bash his head against the wall as both Minseok and Jongdae had insisted-forced- him to join them for ‘sunshine and exercise’ as Jongdae put it. Claiming that he himself would turn into a shadow if he didn’t go outside every once in awhile.

Honestly, he hoped he would turn into a shadow this very moment. He had nothing against the pair- well, Minseok more then Jongdae- the latter could be so loud and vibrant at times it physically hurt to look at him. They had pulled the ‘Hyung’ card to lure him out here in the sunlight-

That was a dirty trick and they knew it.

“Come on Yoongi! Hustle!” Jongdae called out- the pair far ahead of him on the running track- a mischievous grin threatening to split his face in half. The younger huffed, making no attempt to catch up as he slowly walked the running course.

“Don’t bother him to much Dae, or he’ll throw you in the void again” Minseok snorted when Jongdae shuddered at the memory, pouting at the memory.

“If you ask me, Yoongi, you should have left him in the void” A raspy voice suddenly cut in nonchalantly. Causing the trio to freeze in their spots, Yoongi felt his stomach churn anxiously, unable to look behind himself to face the familiar drawl he knew so well-

“However, if you are simply too soft to do so, I’ll happily oblige.”

Slowly Yoongi turned, finding himself gazing into hard indigo eyes, a long scar crossing down his right eye. Mint colored hair, but what caught his focus was the burned flesh on the left side from long ago that was stark across his pale skin, the number ‘05’ scarred in place.

Oh, this wasn’t happening. This had to be a nightmare-

“Süga” he mumbled numbly, barely noticing when Minseok and Jongdae had run back to his side, the pair just as shell shocked as he was.

“what are we? Chop suey?” Xiümin asked as he and Chën joined Süga’s side, causing Jongdae to flinch violently at the sight of them- dread washing over all of them. Chën smiled mirthlessly as he watched the trio squirm under their malicious gazes.

“Who knew we’d find you three out of everyone here, must be fate!” Chën mocked happily in deadly joy.

_________________________________________

Luhan POV

“Hyung? Are you alright?” Junmyeon asked gently, the pair had been hauled away most of the day, trying to make sense of all the information that had been passed around in such a short amount of time. Luhan felt like his head was only a few seconds away from splitting open.

“Aw, are those headaches of yours still bothering you Hyung?” a teasing voice asked, causing the duo to shoot up from their seats, Luhan felt his heart clench painfully hearing the familiar voice, however unlike the sassy joyful tone it normally held, this one only held none of that warmth.

Only mocking and dark- dangerous.

There stood both Sehůn and Suhø, deadly glints in their gazes as they watched them reel from their sudden appearance. Luhan had so badly wished that it had been his Sehun- but it was clear that the two shared similar appearance but held none of the same emotions.

He isn’t Sehun Luhan had to remind himself as he reigned himself in quickly, taking a steadying breath.

“What are you doing here? Obviously, this isn’t a social visit” Junmyeon spoke stoically, eyeing his x-self tensely. The two x-selves shared a passing look before Suhø simply smiled,

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he muttered, suddenly the walls of the building shaking violently, the glass of the windows shattering, a whirlwind of air twisting dangerously towards them and from the other side water slicing any place it could reach.

“Luhan, get down!” Junmyeon hissed, redirecting the water back towards the x-selves.

The battle had begun.

______________________________________________________

Kyungsoo POV

The moment they felt the building shaking, they knew something was wrong- very wrong. All those left within the building scrambling together along the way as they- quite literally in some cases- ran into each other.

“What the hell is going on?” Chanyeol hissed, already feeling his fire boiling in his veins- ready for a fight. Kyungsoo ignored him as they skidded to a halt outside of the medical bay, thankfully finding both healers unharmed

“You both stay here, alright? Keep this area lock downed unless it’s one of us. Lucas you and Taemin stay with them just in case” Both he and Chanyeol didn’t bother to wait for a response, knowing the pair would keep them safe as they sped off outside.

Barely making it a step outside before the ground split apart, throwing them in opposite directions. Fuck, that meant-

“Kyungsoo, out of the way!” Yeollie hissed, blocking an oncoming ball of fire with his own wall of fire. Once Kyungsoo finally got his bearings, his eyes landed on the pair of people he had never wanted to see in his lifetime again- at least not these versions.

D.Ø stood silently, watching along Chanyeøl, who was smirking at Yeollie condescendingly.

“Still the weak one, I see”

“Says the one with a messed up eye after our last back” Yeollie snaped back, Chanyeøl growled angrily at his words, the mismatched eye boy seething. D.Ø rolled his eyes, chopping him in the back of the neck “Focus, don’t let him get under your skin” he chastised.

Kyungsoo knew that if he fought his x-self, they’d get nowhere, most likely in a stale mate of being evenly matched. Yeollie seemed to share the same thoughts, the two silently nodding to each before moving- catch the x-selves off guard as they switched their targets.

Kyungsoo sent the earth around Chanyeøl flying, tossing him roughly into the building behind them. Chanyeøl hissed angrily as his body smashed through glass, stone and metal. He could feel the sting of skin being ripped open and shredded by the multitude of broken glass.

D.Ø cursed under his breath as Yeollie swung at him, fire enveloping his hands all the way up to his shoulders. He could feel the heat of the fire each time he dodged the unceasing onslaught, if he got to close he knew it’d burn him to a crisp- he had to keep him at a distance.

He formed a thick wall of earth around himself and then Chanyeøl, closing his eyes tightly he focused, the ground all around them shaking and splitting open swiftly- violently. The pair cursed as they avoided the patches of earth crumbling away from under their feet.

This was going to be a battle of endurance in the end.

__________________________________________

Scarlett POV

Both she and Baekhyun had yet to get out of bed, the pair wanting to remain in the comfort and warmth of their little bubble for as long as they could. Baekhyun had wrapped himself around the thin girl much like a koala and had sine refused to let her go.

She didn’t admit it, but she enjoyed these quiet moments. Absentmindedly running her fingers through his soft, fluffy hair. Her thoughts running amuck in her mind as she had gone through another sleepless night, anytime she closed her eyes she was continuously plagued by nightmarish scenes each worst from the last.

“Stop” a voice mumbled groggily causing her to halt her ministrations, though before she could pull her hand away, his long fingers gently wrapped themselves around her wrist, keeping her in place.

“No, not that, I mean you’re stuck in your head again. Don’t do that” finally she looked down to see his puppy eyes staring back at her, dark circles forming underneath his eyes since he had stayed up with her each time she was unable to find solace in slumber. Guilt gnawed away at her, a small frown marring her expression

Sighing softly, he reached up placing a tender kiss on her lips. She could feel her cheeks heating up under his shameless displays of love- a slow cheeky smirk plastering his face at her timidness.

“Even after all this time, you’re still so shy~ Your so cute~” he teased, Scarlett scoffed before flicking his forehead in retaliation. He whined- much like a kicked puppy- pouting up at her in mock hurt.

“so, mean! Let me love you~” he said in a sing-song voice, she had a snarky retort ready, but it was immediately swiped from her mind when he grasped both her hands turning both their bodies over until he was hovering over her, his eyes darkening the longer they stared at each other.

She felt like her body was on fire, face flushing dark as her heart raced. Looking Baekhyun in the eye felt too vulnerable, she couldn’t hide anything from his piercing gaze and that made her squirm.

“Don’t look away” he murmured, leaning down to capture her lips with his own once again. unlike before which was feathery and gentle, now it felt fiery, igniting and spreading fast like a wildfire in a parched forest.

Her lungs burned but she didn’t want to pull away, their bodies flushed together as his hands roamed her body as her hands found purchase entangling themselves through his hair, pulling him closer. This wasn’t the first time they had connected as one but for Scarlett it scared her nonetheless, her insecurities and doubts rearing its ugly head each time threatening to breakdown what was left-

Each and every time, Baekhyun would swoop in, silencing them all with each caress, kiss heated movement. She trusted him and he trust her- for a moment nothing mattered as their bodies connected, molding together in almost overwhelming pleasure and love bearing their souls to each other. One more then one occasion it ended with her in tears- unable to handle the raw emotions surging through her.

Baekhyun would always hold her close, picking up the shattered pieces of her soul.

_______________________________________-

Afterwards, she must have finally fallen asleep for a few hours, though short lived as she was jolted awake. At first her mind couldn’t register what was happening until she felt her surroundings shaking, crumbling around her. She shot out of bed, shaking the sleeping boy beside her hurriedly

“Wake up, Baek, something’s happening” she managed form her words steadily, blindly throwing back on the clothes they had hastily gotten rid of a few hours prior. Baekhyun followed her lead as he tried to shake away the weariness from his sleep deprived mind.

“What’s going on? Earthquake?”

“…No, it doesn’t feel like how a normal one would, this feels to…controlled” Scarlett had to push down the hallow dread that settled deep within, hoping she was wrong with her theory of what- or who- was causing this. She followed Baekhyun out of the room, the hallways eerily silent and empty.

“This isn’t right, we should have seen some of the others by now” he gritted his teeth, also feeling the sense of dread wash over him. As they were turning to rush down another hallway Baekhyun suddenly grasped her wrist tightly, bringing the pair to a skidded stop.

“Baek? Why did-“ she stopped when the lights above them began flickering rapidly until the burst, sending glass shards haphazardly through the air.

“What are you doing?”

“It…it wasn’t me Scarlett” He replied tersely, his body rigid as he kept his gaze further down the darkened hallway. Scarlett felt her hear jolt. If it hadn’t been Baekhyun then-

“Well, well, well….look who we have here~” a soft voice called out, two figures appearing out of thin air. One, she recognized as Kāi, he was always hard to miss with his unnerving appearance. She let out a shaky breath as she forced herself to meet the burning gaze she felt drilling holes into her.

His snowy-white hair seemed almost ethereal in the dimmed building, the shards to glass seemed to be glittering as he walked leisurely closer to their frozen forms.

“You remember Kāi?” he gestured to the green haired male, who simply watched on in amusement, his grin growing as his gaze met with Baek’s. Baëkhyun barely spared the original a passing glance, his focus remained firmly on the silver-eyed girl before him.

“Hello, it’s been quite a long time hasn’t it? Little dove~” 


	8. 오아시스

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> Hello lovelies! Hope everyone has been doing well. I'm so happy that Kyungsoo is back! I couldn't hold back the tears during his Vlive yesterday lol, and when Sehun came to join him, oof, heart overload. So, welcome back our squishy-soo! 🖤🖤🐧
> 
> This chapter ended up being longer then I had planned, oops, lol. but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please continue to stay safe and healthy. 
> 
> have a wonderful day/night! ✪ ω ✪

Yoongi POV

Finally, he pulled himself out his frozen stupor, eyes narrowing as Chën continuedly laughed with almost manic glee, he clenched his fists as he felt shadows swirling angrily around him like shadowy flames.

“Doesn’t matter what you’ve come here for, you won’t succeed” he replied icily, his gaze never leaving Süga, who in return watched him stoically. His mouth twitching upward before it quickly disappeared.

“You sound so sure of yourself, but how can someone like you, stop us? when you couldn’t even keep those you considered to be brothers, safe?” his tone almost bored as he taunted the burgundy haired boy, who gritted his teeth. He had to remain calm, yoongi reminded himself, he couldn’t let his x-self get under his skin.

Without another moment’s hesitation, the pale skinned boy had disappeared within a swirl of shadows, reappearing behind Chën as shadowy hands reached out catching mismatched eye boy off guard, his laughing abruptly stopping.

“What the hell-“he wasn’t even able to finish his whine as he was pulled within the shadows. The pair disappearing completely. Süga sighed, as if greatly inconvenienced, before turning his attention to the pair the remained.

“Well, it seems like those two will be busy in the void, which leaves you two” his eyes flickering back to Xiümin “do you have a preference?” he cocked an eyebrow. The frost-blue haired man simply hummed as he eyed the pair.

“let’s see how you compare to me Chën~” he cooed and wasted no time shooting a bundle of sharp ice spears towards Jongdae, who in turn managed to dodge but just barely. Minseok, who was already focusing on helping Jongdae was stopped abruptly as shadowy hands wrapped tightly around his legs, pulling him roughly to the ground and dragging him out of Jongdae’s reach.

“So predictable” the indigo eyed man sighed annoyedly, shooting a quick glare towards Xiümin as he spoke before he focused back on Minseok. The shadows continued to wrap themselves tightly around his body, inching its way up slowly.

Growling, Minseok formed Ice spears at a rapid-fire pace, at first all being dodged or deflected until one managed to ricochet, slicing deeply across his back. Süga hissed, eyes flashing dangerously as the shadows loosened enough for the older of the two to slip away from it grasp.

“So annoying” he cursed quietly, as the two lunged at each other, Shadows and Ice clashing together,

Meanwhile, Once Yoongi had pulled Chën in within his shadows he dropped him in within the void, lurking unseen by the former who kept sending bolts of lightning every which way- only for them to be lost within the darkness.

“Show yourself you coward!” his eyes scanning for any sign of movement from the shadow user. He hated Süga and Yoongi’s powers, they were dark and creepy and every time he had been stuck in the shadow void it had driven Chën to near insanity.

“What’s wrong? Scared of the dark?” a bodiless voice asked, echoing through the darkness as inky tendrils lashed out, swiping and slicing any place they could reach. Chën could feel sparks of electricity crackling through his body the angrier he got.

“If you think, I’m going to lose to someone like you, you’ve got another thing coming” he glowered, electricity raging through him until it shot out every which way, continuing to grow in strength as if someone had let off an electricity bomb.

Yoongi cursed silently as he was blinded, falling deeper into the darkness to avoid his attack. Chën already deemed he know had the upper hand on the shadow user-

Oh, how wrong he was.

_____________________________________

Chanyeol pov

He hated how this battle was dragging out, even with Kyungsoo facing his x-self as he faced D.Ø, they were to close in power it would seem. Now this was merely a battle of endurance and will. At the moment Yeollie found himself hidden under the ground alongside Kyungsoo.

How Kyungsoo had managed to turn it into an underground maze of sorts in such short time, he’d never know. But for the moment it allowed them to catch their breath, keeping their enemy away by the ever growing twists and turns of dark confusing landscape.

Slowly the pair made their way deeper into the ever-forming tunnels, the air felt thin and the only way they could even see was thanks to his flames that hovered in his hand.

“What’s the plan now? Eventually their going to find us, Kyungsoo” he rasped quietly, at the very least his ribcage was heavily bruised and made breathing an even harder task, Kyungsoo eyed his worriedly.

“Sit down for now, you need to focus on your breathing” he ordered the elder softly, unable to dispute his statement, Chanyeol begrudgingly plopped down onto the softened earth, his head resting on the walls of the tunnel as he closed his eyes, trying to steady his ragged breathing.

“We need to get you to Taeyong or Yixing-Hyung, you could have a punctured lung…”

“…Don’t worry about it Soo, right now we-“

Before he could finish his train of thought, the air around them felt hot as smoke tainted what little air they had, Kyungsoo knew this wasn’t Yeollie’s doing, so that meant only one thing-

“They found us” the pair said in unison, Just as the hot flames raged towards them from all directions, the earth shaking all around them as parts of it began to collapse blocking of their escape route.

Yeollie was holding back the wall of fire that rushed towards them, but with his breathing compromised Kyungsoo knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out as long as he normally would, quickly grabbing onto the back of Yeollie’s shirt, the ground around them shifted before being lifted up and into the air, bursting through layer after layer of earth around them before they shot out of the ground, being flung through the air and landing roughly somewhere into the thick forest.

Chanyeol groaned in pain, clutching the right side of his ribcage, Kyungsoo watched as the area they had just been flung out off was suddenly engulfed into a pillar of fire, they had made it out just in the nick of time.

“told you all we had to do was smoke them out” D.Ø’s monotone voice droned out softly, Kyungsoo cursed- Though he shouldn’t have been so surprised that he and his x-self thought so alike.

Before he even had a chance, he felt a fairly large boulder crashing into the back of his head, immediately his eyesight blurred, and his ears were ringing. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and quite honestly, he felt like he was going to vomit, the bile burning in his throat.

He stumbled as he made his way- or what he thought was the way- towards Yeollie, fighting desperately to stay conscious.

“Kyungsoo!-“ whatever the normally happy virus had called out panic-stricken, was drowned out as he was struck once more with the boulder,

“Get out of here… Yeollie” he slurred out quietly before darkness overtook him and his body collapsed onto the forest floor. The fire user cursed angrily as he dragged himself towards the owl-eyed boys unconscious form, Shielding him from any more harm.

Chanyeøl smirked, flames surrounding his form, lashing out angrily as he stalked closer,

“Why the look of surprise? Did you really think your lot could ever beat us? Did you really think we were the weaker ones?!” the more rage he felt, the hotter the flames around them became,

“Do me and favor, and just die!”

Just as he was about to strike, a figure appeared beside Kyungsoo and Yeollie,

“What the-“ Yeollie murmured before he and Kyungsoo were both whisked away by Jongin.

“-FUCK!” Chanyeøl seethed, Jongin had been so fast he nor D.Ø had enough time to react, fire shot out in pure malice around them, as trees and other plant life were consumed by the unforgiving fire. The calm one of the two, shook his head before sighing.

“Enough, Chanyeøl.” He rolled his eyes, unimpressed by the tantrum he was witnessing. He checked his watch, noting the time before he sighed wearily, plopping down onto the ground.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? Our fight is over, no need to butt into someone else’s fight. I’m tired” he stated matter-of-factly, his body resting against a large tree, ignoring Chanyeøl’s exasperated stare of disbelief.

______________________________________

As soon as the trio teleported inside the medical bay, both Taemin and Lucas were about a millisecond from attacking them before Jongin quickly called out,

“Wait! It’s just us!”

Taemin sagged with relief, “Be careful! Lucas was about to decapitate you” to which Lucas protested half-heartedly, but soon his gaze fell onto Kyungsoo’s unconscious form, who was held protectively by Chanyeol as he carefully moved him to one of the open cots. Both Yixing and Taeyong immediately flocking to the pair.

“What happened?”

“We…fought against D.Ø and my X-self, towards the end…he was hit in the head twice by D.Ø’s boulder…Jongin got us out of there” the gentle giant finished, his voice strained and breathing labored. He clenched his eyes shut tightly as he stumbled, if it weren’t for Taeyong coming to his aid, carefully holding him up, he would’ve hit the ground by now.

“It’s okay, you’re both safe now, just rest okay? We’ll fix you right up” Yixing gently promised as Chanyeol felt warmth blanketing him, his head felt fuzzy as his eyelids drifted shut, exhaustion taking over just as Taeyong managed to place him carefully on the bed next to Kyungsoo’s.

“I’ll focus on Kyungsoo-ah, can you take care of Yeollie?” Yixing asked Taeyong, already getting to work, the younger murmured a quick ‘of course Hyung’ as he too got started on his task.

“What’s the hell is happening out there…” Taemin sighed, both he and Lucas couldn’t leave, in case someone came looking here and tried to attack Yixing and Taeyong. Jongin meanwhile already prepared to take his leave,

“I’ll see what’s happening and bring back anyone who needs medical attention. Stay safe” he pleaded softly before disappearing once more.

____________________________________________

Luhan POV

Luhan cursed silently as he managed to dodge-just barely- another violent twisting whirlwind from Sehůn, to make matters worse, he had gotten separated from Junmyeon, both he and his x-self had ended up being flung out of the window during the leader’s attempt to protect him.

Thus, leaving only him and Sehůn.

He knew the other was alive- injured but alive. He felt so useless, he cursed everything- left, right and center- he was just so tired of being…well, himself. A dark part of himself knew that if he had really wanted to, he could use the side of his powers he never liked-

Mind control

Then he could at least use it to knock them out…He gritted his teeth as he quickly dismissed the thought. Memories of the first-and last- time he’d ever used it on anyone and how devastating the results where. They haunted and plagued his ever-weary mind no matter how hard he tried to keep them locked away.

So, mind control was definitely off the table.

The elder was so tired, tired of fighting, tired of losing those he cared about, tired of everything. As if his body had made the decision on its own, he found himself slowly coming to a stop once he had ended up running towards a dead end in an empty hallway.

“What’s this? Giving up already, Hyung?” a mocking voice asked, footsteps echoing ominously in the eerily empty hall. Luhan didn’t rise to the bait, simply turning to face Sehůn as he stopped in front of him, leaving a good amount of space between the two.

Neither of them spoke, Sehůn stared at the other, as if searching for something. His sky light blue- almost white- eyes piercing right through Luhan. The angry red scar that ran over his right eyes a stark contrast to rest of his otherwise handsome face. His gaze was drawn to the middle of his chest, where he could see a painful looking burn that scarred the area, the number ‘94’ having been burned into the skin.

This wasn’t their Sehun- he knew this- but he still felt his heart tighten painfully as he watched what he and the other x-clones had become after all this time.

“Is he alive?” Luhan asked before he could help himself, this caused the other to pause briefly, his head tilting in confusion and his brows furrowing as he watched on silently.

“Sehun- our Sehun- …is he…are any of them still alive?”

Silence, that’s all he was met with.

Sehůn had an unreadable expression as he seemed to process what Luhan was asking, the younger’s jaw clenching and unclenching several times.

“I…Don’t know” He answered truthfully, a rare expression of weariness and somber passed through before quickly darkening once more, the storminess in his gaze returning.

“It won’t matter in the end though. You all have tried to make us disappear- like we never existed! Your reckoning is coming” he seethed, eyes narrowing full of hurt and rage. Luhan could read bits and pieces of his scattered mind, though the other had obviously been taught to put up mental barriers to keep others out.

“We had to-“ he stopped, shaking his head before he amended the statement

“We needed to, everything having to do with that facility needed to be locked away- far away from this earth. Or it would have been a matter of time before someone else tried to pick up where they had failed.” He reasoned, only angering Sehůn further.

“Why couldn’t we have done that, together?! As one! It wasn’t are fault we were created but you all saw us as monsters, evil beings who had to be put down! We suffered what you suffered; we went through what you did! What makes you all better than us!? You left us to waste away!”

The wind rapidly picked up the longer Sehůn poured out all of the contempt and rage he had harbored for years, he still couldn’t understand why they had been condemned along with the rest of the red force- it wasn’t their fault,

It wasn’t their fault.

Bitter tears cascaded down his cheeks, he was losing himself and wasn’t able to reign himself back in. Luhan stared at him in slight disbelief and guilt. No one had handled that day well, that’s no one talked about it.

Back then only two people out of everyone had tried to get the others to see that they weren’t monsters, that it wasn’t their fault- they just needed guidance. Those two had been Scarlett and Yixing.

No one had listened to them.

The doe-eyed boy felt his own stinging tears as Sehůn’s rageful wind whipped around the pair, slicing away at his skin from all sides. Glass shattering, walls crumbling around them, almost ripping away from the building’s structure.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” the words had been so quiet they almost got scattered through the howling wind- but he heard them, Sehůn had heard them. He was getting to confused, his emotions and thoughts blurring together and fizzling out.

Just as Luhan had made the decision to try and reach out for the x-clone, his arms stretching out- being sliced to shreds- He felt arms wrap around his torso before he was ripped away from the scene. The last thing he heard was the younger’s anguished screams.

___________________________________

The next moment he found himself on the floor of the medical bay, watery eyes staring up at the ceiling before he hastily wiped them away.

“Are you alright, Hyung?” Jongin asked from beside him gently, noticing how sliced and battered his body was from the onslaught of Sehun’s attacks. The younger helped Luhan to sit up slowly before Lucas came over to help pick him up off the floor.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” He insisted, gently prying himself from their grasps. He gaze focused on Yixing and Taeyong who where busy focusing on healing Kyungsoo and Chanyeol.

“Are they okay?”

“their external wounds healed easily enough. I’m more worried about Chanyeol’s broken ribs puncturing his lungs and Kyungsoo might have possible brain trauma.” Yixing’s gaze finally settled on Luhan, talking in his shredded body before frowning,

“Don’t worry, I’ll live, just focus on them first…okay?” the elder commanded softly, waving off his concern. Yixing frown but from what he could see none of his wounds where life threatening and he wasn’t bleeding out.

“can you two make sure to put pressure on any of his larger cuts?” he directed his questions towards Taemin and Lucas as he refocused on Kyungsoo. The pair wordlessly agreed- much to Luhan’s displeasure.

“Nini, you need to look fore Junmyeon, we were separated, the last I saw both he and Suhø had been flung from the building, fuck knows where” he groaned as he felt someone tying a tourniquet tightly around his forearm.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find him” He promised and just as quickly was gone- how did he have so much energy?

“you’ll be okay, Luhan-Hyung, just rest okay?”

Luhan allowed himself to be gently pushed onto the cot, staring listlessly once more at the ceiling as they continued to tie tourniquets around his larger cuts.

One thing was for sure though, Luhan was definitely not okay.

________________________________

Jongin POV

Unfortunately, it took him longer than he wanted to admit trying to find where Junmyeon had ended up. He was surprised how far both he and Suhø had been tossed from the building during their struggle. Finally, he found the pair after following the trail of debris and destruction left behind.

The sight that greeted him however caused his heart to stop momentarily, panic surging through his veins as he hastily made his way towards Junmyeon.

There on the forest covered ground the pair lay, heavily wounded. His eyes trailed towards the red-haired man, even with all his clothing be red it was nothing in comparison to the blood covered his body, soaking into the ground below, his odd hair-horns now disheveled and matted with blood, dirt and debris. Jongin couldn’t even tell if he was still alive honestly, a large gaping wound left behind by what looked like jagged pieces of broken glass.

Slowly he reached his hand out, his fingers pressing against the pressure points in his neck- It was very faint, but the man was alive, just barely.

Stepping away from the x-clone he moved over to Junmyeon, also unconscious and heavily wound, though it was more localized compared to the others. The back over his head was matted with blood, his face nearly completely covered in it as well. It was hard to see if it was related to the injury from the back of his head or a new wound altogether.

His arm was also left bent at an odd angle, definitely broken. Jongin didn’t know whether it was better to leave him and bring one of the healers or try moving him, but he had no time to waste. So ever so carefully he picked up his unconscious leader, shifting him in his hold gently.

He couldn’t help but look back towards the other, at this rate if no one else found him, he was going to die. Jongin had already seen enough death in his lifetime, and no one deserved to die alone. Decision made he disappeared, then reappeared in the medical bay, carefully laying Junmyeon on one of the beds and before anyone could get a word in edge wise, he was gone, much to the confusion and panic -over Junmyeon- of the others.

The moment he reappeared in front of a disinterested D.Ø and a still fuming Chanyeøl - literally, he could see smoke sizzling from his body.

“You!” the pink-haired boys voice boomed in the otherwise silent forest. D.Ø pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly his patience was wearing thin. The brown-haired male was forced to teleport around the area several times, avoiding fiery wrath. He re-appeared high up in a tree, calling down to them.

“Just wait a minute!”

Thankfully, though he was still Kyungsoo’s clone, he also kept himself levelheaded in situations. So after whacking the taller male upside and ‘calm the fuck down’, the fire balls aimed in his direction has ceased for the moment.

“What are you doing back here?” the heart-shaped lipped male questioned, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

“I don’t want any trouble, I don’t want to fight-“

Chanyeøl scoffed, muttering something inaudible. Eyes rolling.

“Look, I was looking for Junmyeon, I found both him and Suhø…however they were both heavily injured. Quite honestly, I don’t know if Suhø is going to survive. All I want to do is take you to him” he nearly pleaded. This caused the pair to freeze, eyeing each other as if having a silent conversation.

“Why? Why would you want to help you enemy?”

“How do we know this isn’t some trick?” Chanyeøl finished D.Ø’s sentence, distrust clear in his eyes.

“Because no one deserves to die alone” was Jongin’s response, barely above a whisper, his heart breaking at the thought.

After a beat of silence, finally D.Ø spoke- voice slightly strained.

“Take us to him…Please.”

Jongin jumped down from the tree, landing in front of the pair as he grasped each of their hands, and the next moment the trio disappeared from the area.

______________________________________________________

Baekhyun POV

He felt his anger boiling over the moment he laid eyes on his x-self, who had the audacity to even speak to Scarlett.

“Don’t.Talk.To.Her” he growled before lunging, throwing himself at Baëkhyun whose smirk simply grew as he was tackled to the ground. Their bodies twisting and turning as they got into a physical scuffle, not even bothering to use their powers.

Baek was able to land several heavy blows- one to his clone’s stupid face- before the other got the upper hand, flipping them over until he had Baek pinned to the ground, his smirk never leaving.

“Well, it seems you’ve grown quite the temper since we last met, haven’t you?” he cooed mockingly. He leaned closer, his face inches away from the black-haired male, whispering so only he could hear,

“Or are you so mad because I was talking to your precious little dove?” he avoided a headbutt thrown his way, eyes lighting up in malicious joy.

“I’m sorry~ you don’t like my pet names for her? Scared I’m going to steal her away? Or…are you scared because we both know who the better choice would be? Because you can’t protect her.” Just as he finished, Baek managed to wiggle one of his arms out of his grasp, his hand reaching for the others face as he blinded him with a blast of light.

Baëkhyun clasped his hands over his face, despite the pain he only began to laugh- his body shaking from the force of his belly-deep laughter. Slowly he got to his feet, blinking away the black spots that danced across his vision, piercing gaze landing on Scarlett.

“He’s quite moody, isn’t he?” he jested, the silver-eyed girl didn’t go for the bait as she ran to Baek’s side, the male still bristling from the snowy-haired boy’s previous words that reopened fresh wounds in his wounded mind.

“Don’t let him get to you, Baek, he’s only trying to get under your skin” she scolded gently as she helped him up off the floor. Baek knew the other was other was only poking and prodding to get a rise out of him, but he couldn’t help it, certain memories still raw in his healing mind.

He loathed Baëkhyun.

Baëkhyun peeked down at his phone, noting that their time limit was quickly rushing in. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t have the time he wanted to pick at his original form’s psyche. A small pout formed on his plush lips at the thought, but he quickly dismissed the thought, turning his gaze back towards Kāi.

The two sharing unspoken words, play time was over- now they had to get down to business and end this as quickly as possible.

Before Baek or Scarlett had any time to react, Kāi had appeared behind them, his arms wrapping around the male’s torso, smirk wide across his face before the pair disappeared. Leaving only the x-clone and Scarlett, who eyed him wearily.

____________________________________________

Baëkhyun POV

“I rather not hurt that pretty face of yours, so I’m going to ask that you come with me- willingly “

His words caused a jolt of confusion and shock to shoot through her body, he had to be insane to think she’d not only go anywhere with him willingly but that she’d actually trust in his words. Like hell she would, so without answering his plea she simply shifted instead- a lithe cheetah sprung forward lunging towards him and pinning to the ground, her sharp claws digging into his shoulders.

He grimaced as pain shot through the upper half of his body, though the smile across his face never wavering as he kept his gaze locked to her animal form.

“Cheetah? Honestly I’m surprised it’s not a wolf, you’ve always been fond of that animal-“ his words cut off abruptly as a deep growl ripped through the air, teeth bared and snapping at his face angrily, more of a warning then intent- for the moment.

That didn’t deter his taunting words, however.

“Ohh~ kitty’s got claws!” he cooed mock-endearment, Scarlett reigned her emotions in, not allowing herself to fall for his childish taunts, her jaw clenched down on his shoulder, the crunch of bones loud in the otherwise silent hallway. He was lifted up into the air before his body was sent crashing through the Third-story window, the female following close behind as she shifted into a raven, soaring through the air.

She tried to search for Baek from high above the compound, she could see different fights proceeding throughout the area, while others it had seemed their fight had ended- she didn’t want to think who had won though, her thoughts turning dark quickly.

Just as she had finally spotted Kai and Baek, a beam of light struck her. Her body burned as she was blinded, falling rapidly towards the ground, being slammed against thick trees and their branches on the way down, before she hit the ground- the sound echoing through the forest from the force of her collision.

Carefully she shifted back to her human form, her head swimming as her eyesight blurred in and out of focus. She pressed her fingers tenderly on her right wrist- most likely broken- though considering how high she fell from, a broken wrist seemed to be the worse of her injuries. The rest just forming bruises, cuts and scrapes.

“That really wasn’t nice you know, I told you I didn’t want to fight- but what do you do? Break my shoulder with your -admittedly impressive- jaw strength! Not to mention those claws of yours piercing into me pretty deep”

She groaned as she heard Baëkhyun’s voice, her gaze finding him just inches away from where she had crashed. His never-ceasing gaze intense as his eyes scanned hers, landing on her cradled wrist. For a moment an unidentifiable expression passed through his gaze before it disappeared just as fast.

“Are you hurt?-“ he asked, oddly his voice gentle and almost- worried? No…She must have hit her head harder than she originally thought.

‘Don’t touch her!” a voice snarled, soon Baek was in front of her, shielding her from Baëkhyun who had quickly retraced his outstretched hand. Watching as the puppy eyed male- who was now sporting a busted lip- wrapped his arms protectively around Scarlett’s thin body, helping her to stand as his gaze frantically searched for any serious injuries.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…how did you find me so quickly?”

“The beam of light, once I got out from Kāi’s grip, the rest was easy.”

An odd expression took over Baëkhyun’s face as he watched on silently, almost like he was in a trance- though whatever had taken over him was quickly broken as a voice called out through his mind. He had honestly almost forgotten about the mental link Lűhan had formed before they came to earth.

‘Baëkhyun!’

‘What is it, Chanyeøl?’

‘It’s Suhø…he’s seriously injured- I…I don’t know if he’s going to make it. We need to get him back to Lay.”

He’d never admit it, but fear pierced him as he heard Chanyeøl’s frantic voice, his jaw clenching, mind racing as he tried to come up with a plan. Soon another voice joined through their connection.

‘you lot are almost out of time; I think even the stupid watch dogs are starting to notice something is off. Everyone needs to start gathering together to head back. Whatever anyone needs to do to finish up, I suggest you do that now, I heard Chanyeøl’s message, I’ll have both Ląy and Taęyöng on standby for when you return.’

Yifān’s voice sounded distant and distorted through the mental link, it was hard to keep their connections to the others when they were on earth. He felt frustration bubble through him, though knew he was right- he couldn’t risk anyone else and they needed to help Suhø.

He wasn’t, however, leaving without what he came for. He let out a deep sigh full of stress and irritation.

‘Alright… Chanyeøl, send out your location for the others to meet you there. You lot head through first, Kai and I will be following shortly after- no arguments. Everyone hear that?’

He heard everyone let out varying responses of agreement through the link before he re-focused himself, Kāi appearing next time him, hair sticking in odd directions while his clothes were scorched and blackened with burn marks, no doubt from Baek.

“Looks like we’ll have to cut this short, I’d apologize…but I’m not really all that sorry” he shrugged his shoulder, head tilted to the side almost puppy like, watching as confusion crossed the pairs expression. Kāi teleported behind them once again-

This time reaching for the thin girl, arms firmly wrapping around her. This time however, Baek was ready for him this time around, immediately grabbing onto him, his arms wrapped tightly around the green-haired males’ neck just as they teleported,

As the trio reappeared, Kāi was forced to drop Scarlett as he struggled to unlock the relenting grasp around his neck, the pressure increasing, blocking his airways.

“Tch…let go!”

“No! Fuck you!”

The two disappeared appeared from sight.

Slowly Scarlett realized-much to horror- she was left just a few feet away from where all their x-selves had gathered, their eyes already on her form, varying expressions around the group. Hers however was drawn to the barely breathing formed, she recognized as Suhø.

Her eyes widening in shock as she saw the bad shape he was currently in. The next thing she knew, her body was writhing painfully on the ground, violent shocks of electricity overwhelming her system. She couldn’t even cry out in pain- blood spilling from her mouth, nose and ears.

She tried to remind herself to breathe- Breathe!

She was barely able to make out Chën, who looked extremely pissed off- she could only guess that whoever he fought against, hadn’t gone well. So now she was the scapegoat of his pent-up anger.

It was almost unbearable- even with her extremely high tolerance for pain- her teeth digging into her bottom lip, drawing even more blood, as she refused to allow herself to scream out- not in front of them.

“Enough!” To her surprise, she recognized the voice who spoke- D.Ø

“What are you doing? Are you trying to piss of Baëkhyun? She’s the reason we came here, stopping acting like a petulant child just because you’re in a sulky mood” his voice- holding more emotion than she’d ever witnessed the x-clone show- laced dark with warning undertones.

Just as suddenly as it had overtaken her, it was gone. She was left gasping for breath- her insides felt charred and pain raged through her body. Tears slowly brimming her eyes as she focused on bringing air back to her lungs.

“Fuck, Chën. Now you’ve done it.” She thinks Xiümin was the one who had just spoken, voice anxiously on edge. None made a move towards her, possibly to avoid being the one blamed in case-

“What the fuck happened?”

All eyes turned to the snarling voice, Finally Baëkhyun and Kāi had returned, dragging a semi-conscious Baek behind them. Scarlett couldn’t hold back the small whine that escaped, eyes on Baek only. She tried to drag herself closer to him, but her body was responding.

Once the puppy-eyed male locked his gaze on her, she saw the murderous rage that filled him. Thrashing against Kāi’s vice-like grip

“I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill all of you!” he spit, blood and spit hitting Kāi in the face, who recoiled in disgust, dropping the other to the ground. Suddenly the portal had opened once more, splitting the air around them- deforming it almost.

“This conversation isn’t over” Baëkhyun remarked, eyeing Chën who sheepishly looked away, trying to hide behind the taller ones in the group- Chanyeøl and Sehůn.

Carefully it was Süga and D.Ø who picked up Suhø’s body, without sparing anyone else a second thought they stepped through, disappearing to the other side. Slowly the others followed, Baëkhyun strode towards Scarlett- who was attempting to put as much distance between them as possible.

Baëkhyun could already feel the pain draining his system- they were over the time limit.

“Don’t touch her!” Baek screamed, before he could even think of standing, Kāi appeared, his foot stomping down on harshly on the back of his leg- a sickening crack echoing followed by an anguished scream.

“Baek!”

Finally getting her body to move, she tried stumbling towards him, her hands reaching out- she was almost there-until black-clothed arms wrapped firmly around her waist, ripping her away from her loved one. Her eyes widening in silent fear.

“No! Let her go! Take me!” Baek pleaded, failing his attempts to stand despite the obvious broken leg sticking out at an odd angle.

“Kāi head back.” Baëkhyun ordered, noting the pained grimace overcoming his features. Without hesitation Kāi agreed, jumping through and disappearing. Baëkhyun ignored Baek’s panicked and hateful threats thrown his way. He dragged Scarlett- who was kicking wildly, evening biting him at one point- towards the opening. She even tried digging her heals into the ground. Anything to escape his iron grasp, but he simply hauled her up over his shoulders.

“Stop moving! You shouldn’t even be conscious after all that electricity flooded your system.” He spat out at her, the pain and exhaustion wearing down on him now.

“I swear, I’ll find you- I’ll kill you-“

Baëkhyun spun around, blood red spilling over his normally icy blue eyes. He was losing control now.

“Shut.up. What can you do? Your so fucking weak it makes me sick! You’ll do nothing. None of you will so stop with you whining!” he snapped. Not noticing the wind around the opening starting to shift ominously, a sucking motion beginning as it was pulling anything in its path inward.

By the time he was calm enough to notice it, it was too late. The pull forced himself and Scarlett hurtling towards the opening, unable to keep his grasp, she slipped through his fingers.

“Baek!-“ she sobbed before she was sucked through, disappearing.

“Fuck” Baëkhyun hissed out in pain as he too was thrown through, Baek had sprung up, ignoring the screaming protest of his body as he tried reaching out, tears bitterly streaming down his cheeks, his heart crumbling.

“Scarlett!” he screamed, ready to throw himself through as well- until he was roughly pulled back. A pair of pale arms wrapped around his thrashing form tightly as he screamed and struggled to be let go. Finally, the opening closed shut, leaving a hallow silence in its wake.

Finally, he turned to see Yoongi’s beaten up form, tears of frustration also forming. He continued to hold on even as the elder swung at him, screaming until his throat was raw.

“Why did you stop me!? They took her! How could you!” He nearly growled,

“They would have taken you to, Baek, they want her alive- that might not be the same for you! I…I couldn’t let anyone else be taken! Baek, I know- I know. We will get her back- we’ll get them all back-I’m sorry….I’m sorry” his voice quaked as he repeatedly apologized, silent tears finally rolling down his pale cheeks as he held onto the black-haired male who simply continued to cry out in rage and anguish, his voice echoing through the whole forest for anyone to hear.

_____________________________

Scarlett POV

Scarlett groaned out in pain, her body crumpled on thr ground from where she had fallen through after being pulled in through that opening- away from Baek, the last thing she saw was the agony in his eyes as he screamed for her. Slowly she forced her body up, finally taking in the scenery around her- she felt fear’s icy grip clench tightly around her heart as she realized where she was.

This was bad, this was so very bad.

Though she couldn’t see him, she could feel him. He was closing in and no matter how hard the pale girl pushed her weary, bloody and battered body to go faster, to just keep moving; it was starting to fail her.

Scarlett was past the point of trying to use her powers, black spots danced around her vision as she stumbled through the rubble and wreckage of this destroyed place that resembled her home- but was far from it. The sky above her was a blood red, an ominous, black-flamed sun hung above surrounded back just as black clouds.

The nightmarish scenes that had plagued her for so long, now surrounded her from all sides- and this time, she knew it wasn’t a dream.

Suddenly a blast of light came piercing past her, she barely dodged by diving to the ground as she felt the burn of singed skin settle on the side of her pale cheek.

“Shit!” she cursed as her weakened body tumbled to the ground, no longer feeling the pain of debris piercing and digging into her skin, all she felt was the adrenaline that was keeping her from passing out.

Even that was now starting to fail. Draining so rapidly Scarlett barely had the strength to force air back into her burning lungs anymore.

“Little dove~” A soft voice cooed from behind- when had he gotten so close? She gritted me teeth as she refused to meet his gaze even as she saw his black combat boots stop directly in front of her collapsed form.

“I’ve found you little dove, why did you think you could escape me? Now look at you, bloody and weary…My poor little dove has had her wings clipped.”

She had to suppress the shudder that shot through her shaking body, a voice that once was the source of comfort, safety and love now only held pain, darkness and fear.

He wasn’t him; he wasn’t him….

As the figure crouched down, his pale fingers grasped her bruised chin in an oddly gentle fashion that was supposed to be reassuring and disarming only set her teeth on edge.

Soon her silver-eyed gaze met with the icy blue orbs that bore into her very soul and she had to fight back the tears of loss and yearning staring into the familiar yet completely unfamiliar face before her.

He’s not him.

White as snow hair framed his pale beautiful face, a silver chain hanging delicately across his face, covering the angry red scar that lay hidden underneath.

He was him, but at the same time he wasn’t.

“Baëkhyun…” she gritted out bitterly. He might look like Baek, he might sound like him; hell, he might even share the same powers, but he wasn’t him. He was a lie, the enemy.

She wouldn’t go down without a fight.

He was quiet for some time, simply observing her, looking for something as he stared into into the girl’s determined and seething gaze. Slowly a smile spread across his lips that was filled with icy playfulness, warning of danger.

“Don’t worry little dove, I’ll set you free from your cage” he promised softly, eyes glinting maliciously.

That was the last thing Scarlett heard before she was consumed by nothingness and everything went black


	9. Crying Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, I finished this earlier then I thought (already working on the next chapter) so I decided to post it since I left the last chapter on a cliffhanger ( •̀ ω •́ )✧ 
> 
> Honestly, writing for Exo members sometimes is hard, I never want to write them in a bad light or hurt any of them since I'm so whipped for them, lol. but, I've got things planned soooo... 😬
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter! I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far or even if you just want to say hello, feel free! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!🖤🖤🖤🖤

Agony, she was in complete agony.

Eyelids to heavy to open as her mind went in and out of semi-consciousness. Having no idea where she was or what was being done to her. She felt firm yet gentle pressure on her limbs, keeping her-or trying to- immobile.

Even if she had wanted to do something- anything- to fight back or escape she was in no condition to do so. She could barely draw air back into her lungs, each breath turning into a choked sob as more pain riddled and tore through her system. She could taste blood as it continued to fill her mouth, causing her stomach to churn in nausea.

“-stabilize-before- heal-“

“really-her-damaged-“

Bits and pieces of words, voices, filled her foggy mind. Unable to figure out who was talking or what they were talking about.

She just wanted the pain to stop. Honestly, Scarlett didn’t care whether she lived through this or not, she’d welcome never-ending darkness with open arms if it meant she’d never have to feel anything ever again.

‘stay strong.’

A familiar voice whispered through, repeating over and over in a distant mantra. Slowly as the numbness of unconsciousness pulled at her once again, the silver-eyed girl thought that perhaps, she’d try to survive this-

One last time.

__________________________________________

Baëkhyun POV

He found himself staring at Scarlett’s unconscious form for a few silent moments, his lips pressed into a soft frown as weariness set in. his shoulder throbbing from her animal form crushing it earlier. He also-strangely enough- felt anger simmering, bubbling and slowly making its way to the surface.

He was going to kick Chën’s ass later, that was a promise.

His gaze settled back on fragile state, her breathing was ragged and sounded quite painful, like she was unable to bring air into her lungs properly. He wouldn’t have been surprised if her internal organs had been charred from Chën’s electricity.

Carefully he crouched down, his hands reaching out towards her- the moment his fingers had brushed against her, she had flinched violently, choked cries of pain falling past her bloodied lips. Her body trying to protect itself even in its state.

His frown deepened, knowing he’d have to move her, they weren’t safe out in the open and she was in critical need of medical attention. Steeling himself, one hand grasped under her knees while the wrapped around her shoulders.

Slowly he got to his feet, trying not to jostle her more then needed.

What a mess this mission had turned into to. Though his expression didn’t show it, his heart was fluttering anxiously in thought about Suhø, if they lost him-

No

He wasn’t going to allow himself to go there, his fingers had started to dig into her skin absentmindedly until another whine of pain brought him out of his trance. He relaxed his grip before starting the trek back towards their living quarters.

Her pulse felt slow and weak, he could barely she the rise and fall of her chest as the girl fought for each breath. A dark look passing over his features as he gritted his teeth.

“Just hold on for awhile longer, little dove” he cooed, barely above a whisper.

Baëkhyun broke out into a run, willing his legs to carry them as fast as possible while soft murmurs continued to slip past his lips, willing her to stay strong.

He didn’t have time to stop and think about his actions, or why he was acting the way he did. He simply needed her alive, for their plan to work. Nothing more, nothing less. She was a means to an end. That’s what he convinced himself and he’d admit to nothing more.

Past her fair façade, she was still their enemy.

“For fucks sake.” he cursed, he was going to beat that kitty-smirking-idiot within an inch of his life for making things even more difficult.

______________________________

Admittedly, it had taken the pair longer than he liked to arrive but thankfully they had made it without running into the burdensome watchdogs or any other incident. once he had entered through the groups secret entrance- away from prying eyes- he immediately made his way to their medical bay.

The moment he entered; however, he was met with chaos.

His body coming to an abrupt halt, eyes scanning the room. Everyone that gone to earth filled the room, plus their two healers. Though each had sustained hefty wounds, none of them looked to be in mortal danger-

Except for Suhø.

Right now, the main focus was the deathly pale male, his skin almost an ashy grey compared to his usual lightly tanned skin. D.Ø was the first to notice his arrival, silently stepping away from the restless group as he made his way over.

“He’s in pretty bad shape…So we convinced them to focus on Suhø-Hyung since none of us had anything to worrying to deal with” his baritone voice filled him in on what was happening before his emerald eyes flicked down to the thin girl cradled in his arms.

“How bad is her condition?”

“That idiot really did a number on her internally, her pulse is weak and seems her lungs took most of the impact. Every time she tries to breath she nearly chokes on blood. Her external wounds aren’t a major concern though.”

As he spoke, his gaze found Chën’s who immediately cowered away from his piercing eyes, seems he had finally calmed down and since then knew that the snowy-haired male was definitely going to tear him a new one later on. So, until then Chën planned to just hide behind Chanyeøl and Sehůn and avoid his wrathful stare.

Shaking his head in unbridled annoyance, Baëkhyun returned his gaze to D.Ø who had watched in silent amusement. The shorter of the two gestured towards an empty bed that was away from the huddled chaos. The pair carefully lowering her down, the moment her body made contact with the white linen mattress her body jerked away, awakening in pain that had dulled for only a short time.

She choked on blood and bile that rose through her throat, her body aching for proper oxygen, aching for relief of any kind from the damage it had suffered.

Suddenly she started to convulse, her body seizing and thrashing violently- inadvertently causing more damage to itself- hacking up blood so dark it almost looked black. Unconsciously she tried to call out for her Baek, but her words came out in nothing more than a wet garble.

“Ląy!” Baëkhyun hissed as he and D.Ø tried to pin her flailing limbs. The elder’s head shot up, both he and Taęyöng had been so focused on Suhø, they hadn’t even realized Baëkhyun had arrived. The moment his iridescent opal eyes landed on the female, he bolted over. Moving around the two who tried to keep her steady.

“I need to stabilize her before we can start healing her. Her lungs have collapsed. I need you to keep her as still as possible, we don’t want her injuring herself further” he murmured, calm and collected as always when it came to these dire situations.

Baëkhyun moved around the bed stopping near the headrest, his arms reaching out and firmly pinning her arms to her side. D.Ø and Xiümin- when had he come over?- pinned each of her legs. She still writhed as tears streamed down her gaunt cheeks,

Ląy knew immediately what had caused such internal damage, his gaze briefly meeting the curly-black haired male who guiltily watched the scene, peeking over Chanyeøl’s shoulders. He focused back on the task before him, he and Taęyöng were both exhausted and behind their calm expressions held fear for their red-haired friend.

“He really caused her damage around the heart, lungs and nervous-system…Taęyöng can you bring me a scalpel and a long tube.”

“Here you go” The amber-eyed male had quickly brought over the requested items, as well as gauzes and alcohol swabs. Ląy sighed deeply before picking up the sharp blade, his fingers gently prodding around to find the exact area he needed to cut into.

“What are you doing?” Baëkhyun eyed him warily, eyes intently scrutinizing his every moment.

“Right now, neither Taę nor I have enough energy to heal her- the longer she’s left untreated, the more likely this can cause lasting complications. Right now, I need to drain possible air and blood that’s flooded into her lungs.”

He could feel his unease and anger rolling off in waves, but it was the only choice. The room remained deathly quiet as the pair got to work. Each time she tried to jerk away, or soft groans of pain slipped passed her lips, Baëk felt his patience wearing thin- at the whole situation.

None of this was supposed to happen, but here they were. Everything that could go wrong almost had so now all they could do was push onward.

Lowering his head, he quietly whispered “stay strong” he didn’t know whether she could hear anything going on around her or it she’d remember, but he felt almost compelled to help soothe her anyway he could. Not even noticing the looks of surprise from D.Ø and Xiümin, who were the only ones to notice the quick yet soft act from the usually angst-riddled male.

_________________________________________

Felt like hours had passed but in reality, it had been only an hour at the most. Finally, Ląy and Taęyöng had been able to stabilize her, setting up in IV in her arm to get fluids back into her system. She wasn’t out of the woods yet but for the moment she was hanging on.

Ląy walked over after a brief moment, a syringe in his hand as he went to her side, untwisting the cap and connecting it to the port in the IV line,

“What’s that?” Baëkhyun found himself asking before he’d been able to stop himself.

“fentanyl, it’s for pain. Right now, we don’t want to overwhelm her system anymore than it already is, Part of why she started convulsing earlier was the high amount of pain and when her lungs collapsed, she went in shock.” He explained quietly, pushing the medicine through the line before flushing it out again to keep it from becoming clogged.

“With this, she’ll be out for a while and hopefully both me and Taęyöng will recover quickly enough to tend to her before she does.”

“Then, we can get to the rest of you as well” Taęyöng apologized, Baëkhyun waved him off tiredly, his fingers rubbing at his irritated and bloodshot eyes.

“What about Suhø? How’s his condition?” he asked the one question everyone else seemed afraid to ask.

Ląy heaved out a deep sigh, absentmindedly cleaning up from all the supplies used to patch the rest of the group up the best he and Taęyöng could until their powers returned. His eyes brief strayed to the comatose male, several IV’s all with different medicine steadily pumping into him, as well as a ventilation tube, the slow heavy rhythm of the machine punctuating the silence that had fallen within the room. He was thankful he had sent everyone back to their rooms for rest, only the trip remained now-

Honestly, Ląy didn’t know how he was going to have this conversation with Baëkhyun let alone everyone else.

“The truth is…It doesn’t look good, Baëkhyun-ah. He’s suffered heavy damage to several major organs as well as head trauma. Not to mention all the blood he had lost by the time he was brought back….”

The elder hesitated, making eye contact with the strawberry-red haired male who shuffled around anxiously, the pair could feel the aura darkening dangerously around the pale skinned male, his face chain glinting ominously as his expression remained neutral.

“Even with both of us, we could only do so much since so much time had already passed and damage had set in. I’m still trying- you know I won’t give up on him. However…in the end, he’ll need to be the one to find the will to pull through and there is a possibility…that he won’t.”

Ląy had to blink away unshed tears that had started to form as he spoke, his heart felt so heavy he wouldn’t have been surprised if it had fallen right out of his chest cavity. Taęyöng also had to fight off a surge of emotion if his wobbling lip was anything to go by.

Baëkhyun, however, had yet to utter a single word. Most would say his violent angry outburst where the most terrifying thing about him. Ląy however would have to disagree-

His silence unnerved him more then anything.

The lithe man suddenly stalked towards Suhø’s unresponsive form, startling the healers as the watched silently. His fingers gripped the railing of the bed so tightly that his already milky skin turned paper white from the strain, light flickering dangerously over-head. He lowered his head until he was right by his ear, his strained voice breaking the silence.

“Listen Suhø, Listen well. You will survive this. After all we’ve been through- you will not call it quits now. Do you hear me? I’m not losing you- or anyone else- We will all make it to our freedom. So help me, if you even think of dying I’ll bring you back and kill you myself.”

His voice trembled with hidden Rage, fear and desperation- not that he’d ever admit to them.

“This is no place to die” he finished, his eyes clenched shut and jaw set so tight Ląy was worried he’d break his jaw. After a few more seconds he let out a slow exhale of breath before stepping away, he turned his attention back to the healers- all previous signs of emotions wiped away, leaving his expression blank and closed off.

“For now, this information doesn’t leave this room. There’s no reason to have everyone else panic and lose focus, understood?”

The pair agreed, everyone was already emotionally and physically fried from this, and they didn’t want to add to their burdens. Ląy still had to check in with Sehůn, when he had patched him up his expression was void, eyes distant and unseeing- it worried him.

“Of course…I’ll keep you updated- on both of them- once anything changes.” He promised quietly before focusing on Taęyöng, the strawberry-red haired male had deep bruises forming under his eyes, his amber eyes blood-shot and his body tremoring with each movement he made, weariness weighing him down.

“Go get some rest, you need it my friend” He ordered gently, nudging him towards the exit. Without much protest the other agreed, telling him that he too needed rest after a large yawn broke through, then silently slipped out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

Sighing, Ląy ran his fingers through his normal slicked-back hair that now was heavily disheveled, before he too could allow himself to rest, he wanted to clean up Scarlett’s outer wounds and help her be as comfortable as possible.

Rummaging through the cabinets, he pulled out several towels- two small and one large- before also taking out a basin, placing it in the sink and filling it with warm water and soap. He was aware Baëk was still there, his eyes watching and following every move he made, though he chose to ignore it, used to his piercing gaze.

Once he set up his supplies on the small table near her bed, he finally turned to always brooding male,

“Alright, I’m going to need you to step out now” his request caused the other to bristle, eyes narrowing in annoyance.

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to clean up her outer wounds and change her clothing. I want to respect her privacy as much as possible.”

“Whatever, I have to deal with a misbehaving kitten anyway” Despite his words, Ląy could still see the hue of red dusting his milky cheeks and had to refrain himself from teasing the ill-tempered puppy like male.

“Please don’t kill him, I have enough to worry about” the elder joked quietly.

“Don’t worry, I’m only going to beat him within an inch of his life.” was his reply before he stormed out of the room, leaving the other in peace for the first time since everyone had returned. A weary sigh escaped his lips as he got to work.

He had to cut away her outer clothing so that he didn’t move her more then necessary, he left her under garments on as he placed the larger towel over her body, shielding it as much as possible. He’d noticed a phone had fallen out once he removed the cut pieces of cloth, intending to throw them in the trash. A small frown appeared in his expression as he didn’t know what to do with the electronic.

In the end, he slipped it into the top drawer of his desk, locking it for good measure. He’d talk to Baëkhyun about it later. Just as he was about to return to the female’s side and get started, the door opened abruptly, lightly banging against the wall from the force.

His brows furrowed in puzzlement when he saw the lithe man return, his jaw clenched in annoyance as he stalked back into the room.

“Back so soon?” he jested.

Instead of a snarky retort, the male simply pushed a pair of clothes into his hands. Ląy blinked slowly before his gaze met with his irked stare.

“You said you were going to change her clothes, seeing as she had no other clothes- I figured she’d need something. Out of all the members this was the smallest size I could find, no doubt it’s still to big for her” he mumbled, eyeing the thin girl for the briefest of moments before quickly turning away, leaving as abruptly as he had appeared.

A few silent moments passed before Lay seemed to come out of the shocked stupor he had found himself in, the smallest of smiles gracing his lips as he placed the folded clothes to the side. No matter how icy and dangerous Baëkhyun could be, he couldn’t hide the softness that lurked deep within. No matter how much he tried to eradicate that part of himself.

Rolling up his sleeves to his elbows, he grabbed one of the smaller towels, dipping it into the warm soapy water as he got to work. Gently wiping the blood that had dried on her snowy skin. As he worked silently, his thoughts drifted.

So much had happened and he knew this was only the beginning, despite what Baëkhyun had said he continued to hold onto hope that all of them- original and clone alike- would be able to be free from all of this in the end. He silently prayed that with Scarlett being here, she’d be able to do a lot more then just goal planned for her-

He hoped she’d save them- save Baëkhyun- from the darkness that clutched and tried to consume them daily. From what he could remember of her, she had seemed different then the others, never truly viewing them as the monsters they had been labeled.

He could only hope.

_______________________________________________

After he was finally done washing away the dirt and dried blood over her body, he had disinfected all the cuts and scrapes the littered her skin, as well as checking the bruises to make sure nothing else was broken or punctuated.

He had placed her wrist into a brace to keep her from moving it around should she wake up before he or Taeyong was able to heal her. Finally, once all of that was taken care of, he carefully pulled on the clothes that Baekhyun had given- well, thrown- earlier. It was a simple hoodie and sweatpants, both black unsurprisingly. The hoodie went down a little passed her knees, but he still tugged on the pants that where definitely swimming on her small frame so that she was covered.

The lights above had started to flick rapidly, a few bursting in their sockets, and he was sure that he had heard someone scream distantly in background, he sighed, shaking his head slightly amused as he finished cleaning up.

No doubt Chën had been found, though that would have to be dealt with at a later time. For now Ląy was about to collapse. He turned off the lights as he made his way towards the door, his gaze landing on both her and Suhø briefly, silently willing for some sort of miracle for his friend, before he silently left the room.

“I’m sorry! Really Baëk I didn’t mean to-“ his whine was cut off mid-sentence before a loud yelp echoed off the walls.

“You don’t even know the meaning of the word but trust me- you’re about to find out” a soft voice growled menacingly as Chën came barreling past him- his backside singed and still smoking- Baëkhyun hot on his trail, malicious joy gleaming through his icy blue eyes.

Shaking his head, the healer only sighed.

“Aish, these boys…”


	10. Trauma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! honestly, I wish I'd be able to skip over a certian day completely and just wake up the day after. but I guess that's not going to happen. Oh well, hopefully Friday will come and go quickly at the very least.
> 
> Anyway, ( •̀ ω •́ ) , I'm going to be completely honest (though it's hard for any of Exo) I am truly UNCAPABLE of writing Yixing (be it him or his x-self) with even a hint of a bad bone in his body because he is a pure, sweet unicorn and needs to be loved and protected ╯︿╰ 〒▽〒 ಥ_ಥ 🦄
> 
> *Ahem* now that's out of the way- I hope you enjoyed that chapter and as always please take care of yourself and I hope you are doing well🖤🖤

The next week and a half- almost two- had trudged by slowly, it had taken the healers a couple of days to recoup before they we’re able to get back to work. Thankfully just in time since Scarlett had begun to suddenly decline once again- Much to Baëkhyun’s simmering anger- Everyone could see it building, despite his icily calm façade.

Ląy and Taęyöng had been able to fully heal her after a few sessions and thus was able to finally take out her IVs and no longer had to give her pain medication that kept her in a comatose state. For now, she remained unconscious, but he knew she’d wake up on her own eventually.

The pair was also finally able to heal the rest of those who had gotten injured during their trip to earth, poor Chën had been put through the wringer thoroughly, unable to escape Baëkhyun’s wrath. The only one who was left unchanged in condition was Suhø.

For now, no change was good news, it at least meant he was still alive and fighting. It was becoming difficult to hide how dire his condition was from the others though, Baëkhyun had still kept his silence-telling anyone who asked to leave the situation to the healers and not lose focus.

Ląy could see through his icy indifference. He knew the snowy-haired male was just as worried as the rest were and with each day that passed the unease grew heavier, weighing down on them all heavily.

He had just finished checking on his patient when the door swung open. Not bothering to look up though as he already knew who it was-who it always was- coming in each day for updates about his two patients.

“Good morning, Baëkhyun-ah” Ląy greeted lightly, finally looking up towards the brooding male who paced around the room, gaze flittering between the two who remained comatose.

“You said you were able to fully heal her?”

“correct.”

“and it worked- I mean she had no lasting damage?”

“also correct.”

“Then why…” he paused, scowling as he saw the elder simply smile amusedly in his direction,

“-Is she not waking up?” he asked (demanded) softly, the muscles in his jaw ticking in strain.

Unfazed, Ląy forced out a tired huff as he all but collapsed into the squishy chair parked next to his desk. He was used to the other not being very patient, could feel his smoldering stare trying to burn through his skin as he waited for an answer.

“One of these days you’re going to give yourself a stroke~” Several lights blew in response.

“Please stop doing that, I’m always the one having to replace the lights your blow out. Look, she is 100% healed, but she’s been on heavy-duty painkillers the whole time and so it needs to filter out of her system. It could be a few more days at most, so please- just have some patience.”

All of the lights within the facility blew out in response, multiple voices rising in complaint through the darkened halls. Ląy sighed for the nth time this morning,

“Aish….”

___________________________________________________

Scarlett POV

She didn’t even need to guess where she currently found herself, once again her gaze falling upon the nightmarish scenes that constantly haunted her subconscious. Though this time she was able to move around-

There’s always a silver lining if you looked hard enough, she thought dejectedly.

She wasn’t sure how, but she knew the surroundings she found herself in weren’t real. Though her mind was too fuzzy and muddled to remember any recent events- she just knew, this wasn’t real. Nonetheless, it still held hidden dangers.

As she aimlessly walked through the burnt and destroyed landscape before her, black-flamed sun hanging ominously in the sky above, she wondered why she kept coming here- there must have been a reason, right?

She was so tired…Will this ever end?

The thought had barged through so suddenly she startled herself, shaking away the darkening thoughts before they were able to take root and grow.

“Scarlett” a soft yet controlled voice called out, causing her to stop abruptly. Her gaze landed behind herself as she turned towards the voice and there, she saw the long snowy-haired female- Scąr, staring back at her with a look of indifference. Yet she could see the calculating search that hid underneath.

She found herself staring into the eyes of her x-self, her the icy blue irises was such a stark contrast of the pitch-black sclera of her eyes. the scars along her face adding to its intensity.

The last time she had seen her within this dream world, she had felt a heaviness of dread and fear blanket her.

This time however, she didn’t have that feeling.

“…Why are you here? How are you here?” she asked timidly, her voice barely above a whisper in the silence between the pair.

Scąr made no move to come closer, she remained stock-still. Cool, calm and collected as she had always been. Watching and observing, seeing things no one else could or would want to see.

“This is the only way I’m able to reach out. though it has taken longer to completely form a connection then I first had planned” she admitted, her gaze never leaving the silver-eyed girl.

“I must give you credit, it’s quite hard to breakdown your barriers- both mental and physical” she added after some thought.

“but how? The last time I saw you- you-…I thought you had died.”

“It’s…complicated.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, that I can’t explain everything right now” though her voice remained calm and soft, an iciness could be heard through the edges. She closed her eyes, reigning herself in with such ease, Scarlett almost envied her.

“I haven’t spent all this time trying to form a connection to get into an agreement. We don’t have much time right now; you’ll probably be waking up soon. So just listen…please”

She’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t surprised by the pleading look that passed through her clone’s gaze for the briefest of moments before it quickly disappeared. She was genuine, that much was true.

“Alright”

“Until the next time we’re able to speak, you need to be careful. You’re on x-planet now and there are dangers you aren’t prepared for yet.”

“Do you mean the other x-clones?-“

“It’s not them you need to fear, though seeing as I haven’t been with them in recent years, who knows how’ve they changed. You’d be better off not trusting anyone until you make a judgement call for yourself” she lightly shrugged as if it were obvious.

“You’ll come to find out truths here, truths that could break you. Choices will have to be made, difficult ones.”

Scarlett felt her heart sink, anxiety gripping at her very being. She had so many questions. She wanted to go home, back to Baek- back to those she loved and cared deeply about.

Where they okay? Was everyone safe. Even for just the moment?

The world around the pair steadily become more blurred and distorted, red and black swirling together into nothingness, she was barely able to hear Scąr- her voice drowned by static and sounded so very distant.

“We’ll meet again, for now head my warning Scarlett- be careful.”

“Be.Careful.”

She wasn’t sure if she had said anything else, those were the last words she heard before she was drowned out, darkness and loud piercing static attacking her senses from all sides.

She just wanted to go home…

_______________________________________

Her body felt sluggish and heavy, she was barely able to open her eyes- it had taken a few tries before she succeeded- the room she had woken up in was thankfully darkened. She felt a rising panic slowly seep in as memories slowly pieced themselves back together, slowly she took in her current surroundings,

It was a medical bay, that much she could tell.

As her gaze shifted, she nearly let out a startled yelp from seeing the red-haired x-member a few beds down from hers. However, when she took a closer look, that’s when she noticed his appearance was a stark difference from when she’d last saw him. Even in the darkness of the room she could still see how gaunt and sunken in his appearance was, skin a pale ashy grey. His body connected to multitude of tubes and wires.

What had happened to him? How long had she’d been here and for how long had she been unconscious? Just the thought of how much time had possibly passed while she was unconscious made her stomach twist and churn anxiously.

It felt like she always had an ever-growing list of questions and close to no answers.

Breathing in- taking a steadying breath, her thin fingers grasped onto the railing of the bed tightly as she slowly got herself into a sitting position. The process was slow as she swung her legs over the side of the bed- noting someone had changed her clothes, much to her embarrassment and dismay, the articles of clothing drowning her small frame- the moment she gently placed her feet on the cold tiled floor, it sent a small jolt through her fried system.

Scarlett clenched her eyes shut once she finally stood, her head swaying and black dots dancing across her vision as she did so. Why was she so lethargic? Had she been drugged?

Her feet soundlessly carried her across the darkened room, just as her oversized sleeved-clad hand reached out for the metal door handle-

It started to twist on its own-

Someone was entering the room. Her heart leapt in sudden panic as she quickly backed away from the opening door- she had no way out. So, she did the only thing she thought to do and shifted into a small creature that could easily keep hidden-

Which in the end happened to be a black-furred mouse, her silver eyes shifting nervously.

Her small form hurried across the room, hiding underneath a large metal cabinet that stood in the farthest corner of the room. The moment she made it under, soft light flooded the room as quiet footsteps entered, the dooring clicking shut shortly afterwards.

Though she didn’t know who it was, she could see their shoes from her hiding place and how they’d immediately halted.

“What the-“ a somewhat panic voice muttered before their footsteps resumed, quickly crossing over to where she had first woken up.

“No, no, no- this isn’t good. He’s going to kill me” the voice mumbled almost hysterically.

“she shouldn’t be able to get far in her state” he continued to mumble to himself as he searched possible hiding places. A few minutes had passed until another set of footsteps had entered the room.

“Taęyöng-ah, what are you doing?”

____________________________________

Ląy POV

He was met by a curious scene the moment he stepped into the medical bay, the amber-eyed healer on his knees and hands, looking under the beds and desks that filled the room before his panicked gaze turned to meet his own.

“I was coming in to check-empty-I don’t-”

“Please, breathe, Taę.”

“She’s gone. I guess she woke up, but with that fentanyl still lingering in her system she shouldn’t have been able to go far.” He pushed out the words quickly and finally, Ląy noticed the now empty bed that the female occupied not long ago.

He sighed tiredly, but still remained calm despite their now AWOL patient.

“I’m more concerned of her accidentally hurting herself more than her actually getting out. It’s alright we’ll find her. Let’s try to do so before-“

“What’s going on here?” asked a low, soft voice. The pair would be lying if they said it didn’t cause them to lightly shudder- how did he manage to be so silent? He always carried himself with a silent, calm grace-his actions icily soft but hid malicious danger underneath.

He was like a ghost in a way, soft and beautiful in appearance- with deadly intention.

“Ah, hello Baëkhyun-ah. How’s your day so far?” the taller healer asked pleasantly, undeterred by the glowering male.

“Don’t change the subject, What’s-“ his words cut off abruptly as his gaze took in the scene before him, The bed the shifter had occupied for almost two weeks was now empty, the bed left slightly disheveled in her absence.

Again, the male was gritting his teeth so harshly, Ląy was slightly concerned he would break his teeth- He really had to talk to him about his bad habits.

“Where.Is.She.” he asked, voice tight and strained. When his gaze turned to the pair of healers, they could see the dark crimson that had begun to bleed over his usually bright icy blue color. To his credit though, he hadn’t lost his temper- yet.

“When I got here, the bed was already empty.” Taęyöng mumbled, the lights around the room brightened so intensely they could feel the heat of it begin to burn their skin. At that point, Ląy stepped forward while placing a calm and soothing hand on his slender shoulder.

“Come now, instead of trying to melt out skins off- we should focus on finding her, yes?” he lightly chided, not much different then a parent talking to their misbehaving child. Baëkhyun’s lip curled in a silent snarl, but the red in his eyes slowly faded.

“Fine. Taęyöng come with me, alert the others- except for Chën- to be on the lookout. She can literally shift into any animal or insect, for all we know she’s as tiny as a fly and we’d never catch her in time.” He grumbled as he stalked out of the room, Taęyöng hot on his trail as the door swung shut behind them.

Ląy remained quiet and still for a few passing moments before a small exhale of breath was released. A small, gentle smile formed across his lips as he eyed one of the metal cabinets in the far corner of the room.

Scarlett, still in mouse form-having witnessed everything- held her breath as she pressed her tiny form flat against the wall. Remaining in the shadows. He couldn’t have seen her- Could he? She was so fucked-

“I apologize for Baëkhyun, he can be quite easy to rile up, even if he doesn’t show it. Would you mind coming out? Please? I will not hurt you; you still have very strong pain medication in your system and could end up hurting yourself again If you aren’t careful.” He cooed gently and ever so patiently.

Scarlett’s little nose and whiskers twitched as her mind raced. She had no reason to trust any of the people here- she knew this- however…Much like her Yixing back on earth, she could sense that his x-clone was just as kind and nurturing, he’d probably never even hurt a fly.

If anyone, the tall male with slicked-back black hair and soothing warm opal eyes was probably the only one she’d allow herself to even consider trusting.

After another round of hesitation and silence, slowly the tiny black mouse crawled out from under her hiding place. Once Ląy caught sight of the small creature, his smile simply grew.

“There you are.” he cooed sweetly, in a blink of an eye the mouse had disappeared, Scarlett’s human form taking back its place instead as she eyed the male warily, still as a statue- waiting, watching to see what he would do now.

Now it made sense why her body felt so lethargic and her head so fuzzy- everything was out of sync and felt distorted. The lights caused her head to pound and they stung her irritated eyes. Sounds around her high pitched and sharp- sending small jolts of pain through her system. All her senses overloading. Why had they given her the pain medicine in the first place? To keep her compliant?

It was only after she was hit by such intense dizziness and her eyesight blackened-her body nearly crumpling to the ground like a ragdoll- did Ląy finally make his move, one had firmly wrapping around her bicep while his other supported the middle of her back.

The pair remained still until the feeling passed and her eyesight returned. The moon-eyed girl tried to flinch away from his touch, but he gently pulled her back. He didn’t want to crowd in her personal space or make things more difficult, He just wanted to keep her from hurting herself.

“I’m sorry, I’ll let you go in a moment, but would you please allow me to help you back to your bed? Just until the medication wears off.”

“…Alright” the female relented, slowly they made their way back to the discarded mattress. He even fixed the pillows and tucked her back in before stepping away and plopping down onto a rolling stool that was nearby, giving her space.

“I know this situation isn’t…ideal, I want to apologize on behalf for them- especially Chën. Though his actions prove otherwise he isn’t a bad person- just…impulsive.” His sheepish smile dimmed down as the silence stretched between them, her gaze fixed on the ceiling overhead.

“I’m not trying to make excuses for any of it, please know that isn’t my intention. Do…Do you have any questions? I’m not sure I can answer all of them, but I’ll do my best to help.”

“…”

Just when the dimpled-male thought this was going nowhere, her soft voice filtered through the now broken silence.

“How long have I been out? I heard you gave me fentanyl…why?”

“It’s been almost two weeks since you first arrived. You were in critical condition from Chën’s electricity. Due to...circumstances…Myself and Taęyöng weren’t able to heal you right away, but we needed to stabilize you. So when we finally did, I made the decision to keep you in a medically induced coma so your body wouldn’t suffer any more trauma. Once we were able to heal you, I stopped the medication, but it will probably take 24-48 hours before it’s completely out of your system.”

Though Scarlett didn’t want to admit it, everything he explained made sense and she couldn’t fault him for it. A side of her- a dark and weary side- wished he would have just let her succumb to her injuries. She would have welcomed death with open arms- No matter how hard she tried to burry these weak parts of herself they always a managed to claw its way back to the surface.

Though still a bit strained, a calm silence had fallen between them, Scarlett was grateful for the quiet moment to just unscramble her mind and try to process all that’s happened.

_________________________

Baëkhyun POV

Unidentifiable emotions surged through him as he stormed through the hallway, after spending nearly an hour looking for the runaway girl. Thinking the worst- he was able to piece together that she had never left the medical bay in the first place.

Ląy probably knew this, that was why he was so calm. That fucker-

Breathe.

Why was he getting so worked up? He didn’t understand. Any and all plans of remaining calm flew out the window the moment his eyes landed on the door leading to their medical bay, though he’d come to regret how he handled it, the moment he burst into the room,

He blew.

“You.”

A soft seething voice accused as the door suddenly swung open, banging off the wall- causing her to involuntarily flinch as her calm bubble burst. Baëkhyun moved through the room with a deadly precision, making his way towards his troublemaker.

He placed his hands on either side of her head, trapping her in place as he leaned in, his upper body hovering over her own- their noses just barely touching- his gaze still had fading stains of red through his usually icy blue eyes. She pushed against the bed, trying to create as much space between them as possible, she wanted to look away, but she refused to show any weakness in front of the x-clone.

“Listen carefully, because I will not be repeating myself. I don’t know what stunt you tried to pull-“ his gaze briefly flickered towards Ląy who watched silently, expression full of apprehension at his friends suddenly explosive temper.

“Causing everyone to look for you aimlessly, only to find out you hadn’t even left this room in the first place. What was your goal? Let’s say you managed to escape from here- Where would you go? This isn’t the earth you know; you have no allies or plan of escape from this world. You’d be hunted down the moment your presence here was found out.”

“Baëk-“ The healer tried to intervene, but was ignored by the other completely.

“You are alone, outnumbered- you have no power in this situation- your only chance of even possible survival are the people in this building. For your sake, this attempt to flee or cause disruption- or whatever this was- ends now. So help me, if you fail to understand or even think or pulling another stunt I will not hesitate to go back to earth and kill off your precious little friends one by one. I’ll even save that little weak, idiotic, pathetic excuse of a boyfriend of yours for last- drawing it out as long as I possibly can.”

As he continued his rant- voice soft as a feather but words deadly like a razor- Her eyes burned with forming tears, his words cutting into deep unhealed wounds she carried she’d pushed aside. Just the thought that he or any of the people here wouldn’t hesitate to hurt those she cared for, just to break her into compliance, unnerved her to her very core.

“Is that what it’s going to take for you to listen? Or do you understand your place now?” he finally finished, warm puffs of his breath filling her senses as he tried to reign himself back in, his eyes piercing her soul.

The voice she was used to that held warmth, love, kindness- the sweet dark brown puppy eyes she was always searched out for- soft caresses in the darkest of moments that kept the thin girl ground, fingers threading through her long black strands of hair as her own found purchase in his fluffy white hair-

None of that was here- Though why would it? This wasn’t her Baekhyun. All the people here- she didn’t know them, not really. He was right, she was utterly alone. And that realization hurt her more then she wanted to admit.

She silently stared back into his heated, malicious gaze. Her jaw set tight, trying to fight back the tears that stung her eyes, the wetness clinging to her long dark lashes.

The moment he took notice of the silent girls unshed tears, silver eyes nearly shining in hidden pain- his eyes widened microscopically, shielding his shock as he nearly flew off and away her, as if he’d been burned. Refusing to meet her gaze as he clenched and unclenched his jaw- why was he so angry?

Instant regret washing over him, He wasn’t even able to spare a glance towards the silent healer as he almost flew out of the room, slamming the door with such force it nearly was torn from its hinges. Leaving the pair, they remained inside utterly speechless.

“Fuck!” he growled lowly. He didn’t understand himself in this moment- he hated it. It made him feel weak.

It was no surprise when another blackout through the building occurred, glass shattering from their fixtures in the process. All anyone could do was sigh tiredly and stay out of the light-user’s way unless they too, had a death wish.


	11. 인어의 눈물

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! back again, I don't really have a set time table for posting, might as well get out chapters since you never know when writers block will strike again. lol.
> 
> At the end when I was writing the scene between her and Baëkhyun I was listening to Exo's 'baby don't cry' and it just fueled that scene, oof. No one was doing well in this chapter, sorry ╯︿╰ (plus I'm watching Harry Potter deathly hallow pt.1 right now and the OST for it always gets me in a sad and angsty headspace, lol.)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! I appreciate you all and hope you are doing well and that we all have better days ahead. Let me know what you think of the story so far, I love hearing from you! have a wonderful day/night!🖤🖤

EARTH

“How is he?” a hoarse voice asked quietly.

“How do you think? He hasn’t said a word since she was taken, the only time I hear his voice is when he’s nearly convulsing in tears.” Was the curt reply.

“I did what I could in a lose-lose situation. If I had to make that decision again, I would.”

“Well, look what it’s caused! He’s a shell of himself. You-“

“What? What was I supposed to do? Huh? Tell me! When I got there, she had just been sucked into the rift, the x-clone following right after. What would have happened if I allowed Baekhyun-Hyung to go after her? They didn’t need him-he was expendable- they would have killed him. For whatever reason they wanted Scarlett, so they won’t outright kill her- We will find her- but I had to make a split decision and so that’s what I did. Could you have made that choice? Does it suck? Definitely. Do I wish I would’ve been able to save her as well? Of course. But it wasn’t possible at the time, so I did what was needed- I did what you wouldn’t have been able to do!”

Yoongi felt like his lungs were uncapable of bringing breath back into his system, shallow-quick puffs of air coming in and out of his mouth, his heart racing as the hurt was palpable in his words, his self-loathing bubbling to the surface. He felt the tell-tale signs of a panic attack approaching, the shadows around himself shifting restless, swirling around his trembling legs.

This wasn’t his fault…right?

“Please-“ A third voice tiredly intervened, “Don’t get into another fight. It’s not going to help anyone. Least of all Baek. What happened is no one’s fault; we will figure out a way to not only save her but all those that were taken. We can’t let this get in-between us, alright?”

Yixing had walked in only to find Yoongi and Chanyeol nearly at each other’s throats- an occurrence that had become normal within the past two weeks, their lives all brutally ripped apart since their x-clones had arrived and, in the end, taking another of their own-

Scarlett.

Yoongi had kept the white-haired male -just barely- from tumbling through the rift after the moon-eyed girl. Much to Baekhyun’s utter dismay and agony. Since that day he had shut himself off from the others, crumbling from the inside out.

The first day he’d go into fits of rage, fueled by pain, screaming and throwing insults at Yoongi for stopping him, at others for not doing enough, and especially himself for not being strong enough to protect her. Since then, he’d stopped talking, when he wasn’t in bed, burying himself in a pile of her belongings, he was staring blankly- his eyes unseeing and so very far away.

Tear tracks had stained his skin, running down his cheeks that now looked pale and ashen. The only ones able to get him to eat or drink anything were the healers- mostly Yixing- even then, he’d barely make it through half a meal before collapsing into a fresh wave of tears.

Everyone was one edge, either blaming themselves or getting into fights with each other over the smallest of things. No one was okay.

After separating the pair, both Yixing and yoongi made their way towards Baek’s room, bringing with them a hot meal, water and soothing tea. Honestly, the healer didn’t want the burgundy-haired male out of his sight, concerned about his violent his panic attacks could get, so he convinced the younger into helping him with this task.

The taller of the two knocked softly before entering, though knowing they’d receive no reply in return. The room was in total darkness, they could just barely make out his form underneath the pile of blankets and pillows- all belonging to her.

He didn’t react at all when the pair walked in quietly, one of them turning on the soft glow of the lamp that sat on the small nightstand beside the bed.

“We’ve brought you something to eat and drink, Baekhyun-ah.”

“…”

No response, not even the slightest movement to let them know he had heard them. When Yoongi tried to pull back the covers the elder simply buried himself further into the self-made cocoon, his tear-stained face pressed against a pillow that he held onto for dear life- they assumed it must have been Scarlett’s.

“Please…you need to take care of yourself. You’ll need the energy for when we find her…”

“and we will, I promised you- we will, she’s a survivor and a fighter- she always has been. So, we need to do the same, we need to hold on and fight.” Yoongi finished Yixing’s sentence, his heart further shattering as he watched the once bright light of their group become just a shell- barely existing. The pale male gritted his teeth, after all they had been through- as a group and individually – he’d be damned if he allowed anyone else to break and crumple now.

He silently vowed to himself to not only bring back the puppy-eyed male to his normal self, but that come hell or high water he’d keep his promise.

No matter the cost.

________________________

X-planet

Scarlett had shut herself away and became unresponsive since Baëkhyun’s cruel cutting words, no matter how many times Ląy gently tried to engage her in conversation, she’d just stare listlessly at the ceiling. Even when the filter-less Taø had popped in- his curiosity getting the better of him- she’d barely spared him a glance before looking away.

“Is she broken?” the panda-eyed boy asked, Ląy could only sigh in exasperation before shooing him out of the room, simply telling him that she needed time to process everything she had been through.

Though he never stepped into the room, the snowy-haired male had constantly walked by the medical bay, always stopping in front of the door but never coming inside. The elder could feel the other’s chagrin and frustration coming off in waves, but he still kept his distance from the thin girl since the incident.

“She’s asleep, you can come in you know” a sweet voice called out, causing the male to stop abruptly, frowning as he absentmindedly fiddled with his face chain- a nervous habit of his. Slowly he stepped into the room, his gaze falling on the Scarlett, who was curled in a tight ball under several blankets, her soft steady breathing quietly filling the room.

The frown deepened before he returned his gaze to the healer, who watched him with a soft warm gaze.

“You can always apologize you know” he put forth gently.

“Apologize? For what, I said what was needed to be said” Baëkhyun deflected, his gaze flittering away from Lay’s knowing look.

“Sure.”

For now, the subject was dropped.

“Is she able to leave the medical bay?”

“Yes, her last check up showed that the medication finally left her system and since she was already healed, there’s nothing left keeping her here- medical wise…Where do you plan to take her?”

“A room has been cleared and cleaned during her stay in the medical bay…So I’ll have her moved there.”

“If I may ask, which hallway do you plan to keep her in?” the elder asked, concern tinting his words.

“She’ll be in hall B with you, Süga, D.Ø and Xiümin. I figured you’d be worried and the others in your hall are probably the most sensible and won’t do anything stupid” he mumbled, even through his look of indifference Lay could see how the situation weighed on the younger male- and how much the pale male hated that fact.

“Alright, when she wakes up I or one of the others will escort her there-“

“I’ll be placing someone outside her door to keep an eye on her….” His voice trailed off, his expression twisting to more of a grimace as if he were already regretting what he was about to ask.

“how…is she?”

“like I said she’s-“

“No. I mean…how is she.” He asked, voice strained. Ląy sighed softly, running his fingers through his hair in thought. Baëkhyun might have been able to fool most with his façade, but the healer could always see through people- and his friend was always in constant conflict and turmoil.

“She hasn’t spoken since- well, you know. when she does eat or drink it’s been very little. She’s...unresponsive. Physically here but mentally, a thousand miles away” he answered honestly, even if it upset the other further it was the best way to deal with the situation.

Baëkhyun gritted his teeth, jaw clenched tight as he focused his gaze on the floor- his eyes screwed shut tightly as he reigned in the surge of emotion that spread through his veins. Sighing he shook his head before immediately heading towards the door.

“Make sure she doesn’t get herself into trouble. They don’t have to stay in the room with her, but someone needs to be outside her door at all times” he bit out, forcing himself to quietly close the door instead of ripping it off its hinges as he left the room.

Ląy could only sigh, there was only so much he could do for his friend if he didn’t allow others past his carefully placed labyrinth that surrounded and hid him from the world. As he got back to the task he was working on before Baëk’s visit, he didn’t know why but his heart felt heavy as lead, unshakable dread filled him-

something bad was going to happen.

_______________________________________

Scarlett POV

She hadn’t been able to meet with Scąr again since their previous conversation. Whether it was because each time she managed to close her eyes she only found a fitful, hallow sleep or simply because her x-self didn’t want to be called upon.

Perhaps she would find her in her world of dreams when she deemed it the right time to do so. Either way, she felt herself continue to slip further into the darkness of her mind, dangerous and hopeless thoughts and emotions consuming her soul-

She was spiraling, but this time she had no one to pull her out. To give strength to her weary, broken self. No one to sit with her in the midst of the blackness in her wounded, torn heart and ride out the lowest of times with her.

She was, alone.

The ivory skinned female hated this side of her that always lurked deep inside, waiting for the chance to break out of its confinement and take over. Slowly suffocating and eradicating anything in its path. Despite all she had survived, all she clawed her way out of and the people she promised she’d stay strong and fight- She still had this weakness in her, that wanted her to throw in the towel and just call it quits.

She was so tired, perhaps it was time to just allow herself to be consumed and disappear.

Several knocks broke the trance she had fallen into, her drowning thoughts subsiding for the moment. Her eyes met with a pair of warm, iridescent opal eyes- ones she had grown accustomed to seeing quite often since her time here.

“Did you rest well? Are you hungry? I can get you something if you’d like” his voice was kind and gentle, he always spoke to her like a wounded animal- not in a condescending way like others might, but just because he was the type of person who never wanted to add to another’s hardship she guessed.

Silence continued to stretch on, the longer it lingered the heavy the atmosphere in the room felt. Sighing, Ląy cleared his throat before smiling once more.

“Alright then, well- Good news! You won’t be stuck in the medical bay anymore, it can be quite wearisome being stuck in this kind of place. So, let me show you where you’ll be stay, hm?”

_________________________

The pair walked in semi-comfortable silence. Scarlett couldn’t help but allow her gaze to scan over every inch of her surroundings, this was the first time she was properly seeing their- home? Properly. She hadn’t realized it before, but the building she was in, was completely underground.

That would explain why there weren’t any windows or natural lighting anywhere to be found. As they walked, she could see different paths and hallways branching off- to where, she had no idea. Why would they create all of this underground? None of it made much sense to her.

In her dreams the building she saw was above ground- but it also looked different from what she saw now. Why have a functioning building above ground only to have a labyrinth underneath? Finally, the pair entered a large open space, seemed to be a common room of sorts.

A couple of couches and chairs littered the room, a worn-down coffee table- there was even a TV and what might have been some kind of game console. To the right seemed to lead to a small kitchen, then to the left several hallways started to branch off once again.

“I know it looks a bit confusing, these halls lead to the sleeping quarters. There are four halls- A, B, C, & D. Your room is in hall B- which is the second hall here” Ląy explained as they made their way down the designated hall, she counted 6 doors- three on each side.

The tall male brought her to the very last room on the right-hand side of the hall, opening the door before stepping aside to allow her entry. Slowly she walked inside the room, nerves eating away- preparing for the worst.

Instead, though sparse- it looked quite…Normal? There was a bed towards the corner of the way, an empty bookshelf and a desk with a rolling chair on the opposite side. She didn’t trust anything, what was the catch?

“Everything was cleaned, don’t worry. This will be your room during your…stay…with us” he grimaced, knowing there was nothing good about the situation, but trying to be optimistic nonetheless.

“Now…Just to let you know, someone will always be posted outside your door- so…If you need anything just let them know. Myself, Süga, D.Ø and Xiümin are the only ones in hall B, and they won’t bother you so please try not to worry to much” he added softly, eyeing her careful for any signs of distress.

He was only met with a blank stare in response, her body stock-still as her gaze fluttered over the bare room.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone now. I’m not sure who’ll be outside your room, but I’ll make sure they bring you something to eat, okay? Please try to eat as much as you can, alright?”

Silence. It was deafening.

Sighing dejectedly, he left the room, closing the door softly behind himself, leaving her to her harrowing thoughts.

____________________________

Scarlett wasn’t sure how much time had passed, it all seemed never ending so she quickly had given up trying to keep track. The moment Ląy had left, she had trudged her way towards the bed, it seemed harmless enough- but you never know-

‘you’d be better off not trusting anyone until you make a judgement call for yourself.’

The words spoken by her x-self had burned themselves so vividly in her mind, how the hell was she supposed to decide who- if anyone- she could trust when she wasn’t even able to trust herself? A loud sigh of defeat escaped her lips as she threw herself upon the bed.

It was softer than she expected. Soft, clean scent of the linen filling her nose as she breathed deeply- woodsy undertones making her long for the quiet forests on earth- her earth. Slowly as the female was starting to doze off, several firm, curt knocks on the door startled her awake.

Just by the way the knocks sounded, she knew instantly it wasn’t Ląy. She licked her dry lips anxiously- just noticing her piercings where missing, what the hell?- as the door opened. She was met with emerald green eyes and oddly enough felt the tension in her body lessen. Though she didn’t trust him, she knew he wouldn’t outright attack her for no reason- he had been the one to stop Chën after all.

She simply curled herself back into a tight ball, her arms wrapped tightly around one of the pillows on the bed as she averted her gaze, staring blankly at the wall before her. Soft footsteps entered the silent room, she could smell the soft scents of fruit and hot tea wafting in the air.

It didn’t bring back her appetite, if anything it only made her stomach churn nauseously- she buried her face into the pillow trying to block out the smell.

“Ląy-hyung wants you to try and finish everything, he said you’ve barely eaten. I’ll be back later to collect the dishes” his baritone voice stated as he placed the tray on the empty desk before he turned on his heel and left as quickly as he had appeared.

At least he wasn’t one for small talk, she mused silently.

She made no attempt to eat or drink, she simply buried herself under blanket and pillow- having no energy to even turn off the light, so she simply hid herself from it.

_____________________________

D.Ø POV

By the time he returned to gather the tray, and hour and a half had passed- more then enough time for her to eat- however, as his gaze landed on the untouched tray, a small frown formed across his heart-shaped lips.

Briefly he looked towards the hidden lump under the blankets, he wasn’t sure if she was truly asleep or just hiding away, he wondered if he should try to get her to eat- knowing Baëkhyun was going to have a fit once he found out she still wasn’t-A silent sigh escaped his lips, he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

‘like she’d even listen to me if I did ask her too’ the thought passed as he gathered the tray, on his way out he paused before reaching out his hand and switching off the light, the room now casted in darkness as he shut the door.

It’d be a waste of food for him to just throw it away, so instead he made his way to the kitchen, placing the fruit on the counter as he sought out a container to place the fruit in.

“She didn’t eat any of it?” a saddened voice asked, he turned his attention to the entryway, both healers walking in- eyeing the untouched tray. He simply nodded in response. He noticed Taęyöng’s longing gaze for the fruit so he simply slid the plate towards the healer- who accepted it happily.

Ląy let out a distressed whine, rubbing his forehead in defeat. They all wanted to avoid another confrontation with Baëkhyun, but it seemed fate had other ideas.

“What’s with that look on your face, Ląy?” the snowy-haired male appeared through the doorway, voice full of suspicion as he eyed the trio- not missing the way they all shot each other a passion look before D.Ø answered for them.

“She’s now refusing anything we bring for her to eat or drink, Ląy-hyung asked me to bring her this- about an hour ago- but when I went to get the tray it was completely untouched” he finished, tone calm and steady as always.

The milky-skinned male didn’t answer for a moment, he stared blankly at the trip before his gaze dropped to the tray then back up at them. Eyes narrowing before he quickly turned on his heel and hastily leaving the kitchen.

“Aish…here we go” Ląy muttered worriedly and the owl-eyed male could only nod in silent agreement.

_________________________

Baëkhyun POV

Though he stormed down the empty hall, he never made a sound as he moved with deadly grace. He could feel his blood boiling with irritation, why was she being so difficult? Couldn’t one thing-such as food- be simple? Was she just trying to spite them?

He halted in front of the door to her room, breathing in deeply then exhaling several times- trying- to calm himself so he didn’t blow up at her like their previous conversation. Just the thought of how that played out left an uncomfortable feeling that settled in his chest.

He didn’t like it. He wanted it to go away- he could still picture the unshed tears she tried to keep hidden as she defiantly met his gaze. He could still picture the hurt flashing through her façade, why the hell did it bother him so much?

‘she’s only a means to an end…pull yourself together’ he scowled in thought before he swung open the door not bothering to knock. He paused as he took in the scene before him-

The darkened room, he could just barely make out the curled-up form hidden underneath the covers. Why did his heart feel heavy? He shook it off as he walked further into the quiet space, his movements light and soft despite the irritation he felt bubbling below the surface.

“Why aren’t you eating?” he bluntly asked, though voice soft in tone there was an icy edge to his words. His frustration growing when he was met by silence, eye twitching as he exhaled lowly. He crouched down beside the bed, his arms resting on the edge.

“If this is some sort of hunger strike, it needs to end now. I’m not playing games. Do you understand?” his question colder then he meant to appear. He saw her form curling tighter into herself, his hand clenching before reaching over and ripping the blanket away from her body, taking away her barrier from the world.

She refused to meet his gaze; her face buried in the soft pillow. She just wanted him to go away, it was hard looking at him- his face almost an exact copy to her puppy-eyed Baek, except where his dark eyes held warmth and love, this one only had icy blue eyed that were malicious and cruel despite his soft features.

Quickly losing what little patience he had, his hand reached out once more, when his fingers brushed lightly against the side of her face, her body flinched away. This made his freeze, hand frozen in place mid air as he processed what just happened.

She finally looked her, her silver eyed shinning even through the darkness of the room, he didn’t like what he saw- the brokenness, hopelessness…the anguish she tried to keep hidden even though her lip quivered slightly in suppressed emotion.

Baëkhyun quickly moved his hand back to the edge of the bed, trying to remember to breathe since it felt like someone had just sucker-punched him, what was she doing to him? He found himself speechless- an occurrence that never happened. His frown deepened as his gaze continue to pierce through her, as if searching for something.

After several beats of pure silence, each refusing to be the first to break the odd stare down, he spoke once more in a soft whisper- any hint of the cold harshness lacing through his voice now gone.

“Look…I know this isn’t ideal…but you starving yourself isn’t going to accomplish anything. You never seemed like one to quit so easily, hm? Can you eat something- if not for us then for yourself?”

He could hear her mumbled something, voice muffled by the pillow she clutched onto, he leaned in closer trying to make out her words.

“What?”

“Why me?...What do you want?...why…” her voice trembled, she tried to hide her face underneath her long dark hair as she forced out the words- her next sentence caused a chill to settle in his bones as he once again found himself speechless;

“Why couldn’t you just let me die?”

He nearly gaped at her shock jolting through his system, as her hallow eyes stared back at him, had what he said affected her so much that she shattered? No, there had to be more to it- more then what he knew, since really- what did he know about her? Hit bit harshly into his bottom lip as he watched her recede back into herself, twisting her body away from him and turning over so her back now faced him instead.

His mind was whirling, to many thoughts trying to proceed with such limited information. He opened and closed his mouth several times trying to come up something- anything- to say.

“Baëkhyun-ah!” A panicked voice broke the moment, he scowled before twisting his head towards the voice, bristling as he saw Chën stumble in.

“I thought I told you-“

“I’m sorry, it’s an emergency- It’s Suhø.” He cut off the glowering male, who’s eyes widened in alarm before quickly returning to his neutral façade.

“Fine, I’ll be out in a moment. So leave.” He ordered, not wanting him anywhere near Scarlett- not anytime soon. The curly-haired male simply nodded before hastily exiting the room, leaving the pair alone.

Slowly Baëkhyun stood, his stomach twisting in anxiety, He didn’t want to leave things like this- don’t ask him why because he wouldn’t have an answer- but he had to deal with this, sighing softly the softness appeared briefly as he formed a small orb of light that cast a dim glow over the room.

“I-…I’m sorry” he sighed before he flew out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him as the orb stayed behind, hovering beside her bed.

Once she thought she was finally alone- no one hovering outside the door- silent tears rolled down her thin cheeks and soaked through the pillow she held in a vice-like grip, eyes clenched shut and her body shaking violently as she wept, small gasps forcing themselves past her lips as she tried to fall apart quietly.

Not knowing that someone had her he stifled wail of pain, His blue eyes stained red as he forced himself away from the closed door and down the hall leading towards the medical bay, away from her pained cries- away from her.


	12. We Are One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note:
> 
> Hello lovelies! a bit of a short chapter, sorry. No matter how many times I looked at it, I'm not entirely satisfied with this one...ugh. ￣へ￣
> 
> I'm also sorry to Suhø for well...you know and chanyeøl for making him an angry virus instead of a happy virus in this chapter ＞︿＜ (っ °Д °;)っ
> 
> but yeah, sorry this isn't the best update. I'm also trying to work on updating the prequel but writer's block has deicded to visit me, oof. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and thank you for supporting the story!
> 
> Take care of yourselves 🖤🖤🖤

Each step that carried Baëkhyun away from the weeping female, the heavier his heart felt. His body felt like it was full of lead and if it hadn’t been the panic and urgency in Chën’s voice, he doubts he would have been able to leave her in the state he did. Her words still rattling around his brain-

He couldn’t process it all at the moment, he had to focus. So, he did what he does best- he buried it all deep inside, locking it away hoping it never sees the light of day again. By the time he reached the medical bay, his mask of icy calmness had returned.

Already he sees everyone crowding around, varying expressions of anger, panic and fear in their expressions. He scowls- what the hell has happened now?

“What’s going on? Why is everyone crowding around here?” his voice still remained soft yet laced with sharp undertones as it cut through the murmuring voices, their attention now on him as he moves through the group was ease. The moment his blue- now stained blood red- eyes land on Lay, he knows- and it only fuels his building anger.

Ląy quietly pulls him aside, voice low since they had an audience bristling just a few steps away,

“I’ve tried everything I could- I…Baëkhyunee, He’s not-“ Ląy’s voice kept breaking as he tried to get the words out, just the mere fact the elder had called him by a nickname that hadn’t been used in years- since he’d eradicate anyone who even thought of trying- was enough for the male to understand the situation.

His lips pressed into a thin line, jaw set tight- eyes unblinking as he stared at the healer, void of all and any emotion. He felt the burn of lurking tears forming, something he hadn’t felt in such a long time it nearly startled him- it was foreign.

He loathed it- so fucking much.

Exhaling silently, he placed a comforting hand on the healer’s shoulder- he could feel the elder’s body trembling in anguish. Slowly his turned his gaze back to the other members- his family, he could no longer hide this from them or hold onto false hope that Suhø was going to be okay- he was everything but okay now.

“As you probably have noticed, Suhø has remained in the medical since being brought back. Because of the extent of his wounds and how long he had been left untreated…Despite both Ląy and Taęyöng exhaustive efforts to save him…” his voice trailed off, strained as he tried to push back emotions that threatened to consume him.

“At this point, he has 24hours- at the most” Taęyöng spoke up, the amber-eyed male’s voice thick from having already shed his fair amount of tears.

For the next few moments, no one spoke as they tried to process their words, until Taø broke the silence, eyes already wet in tears. Eyes pleading that this wasn’t true- it was a sick joke, and the red-haired male would get past this, like they always did.

“No- He can’t- Hyung, wake the fuck up!” he wailed, the young male having to be held back before he threw himself towards the unresponsive male. Kāi clutched onto the frantic male, trying to keep himself from joining the blonde in a flood of despair, mis-matched eyes glued to Suhø’s ashen form.

Baëkhyun watched silently as the others had started to go up to his bedside, one by one muttering words that he honestly didn’t know Suhø was able to hear anymore or not. The younger members of the group struggling to keep any composure whatsoever, unable to keep their hearts harden at times like this.

Slowly it went on like this, until the only ones yet to saying to Suhø was Yifān and Baëkhyun, slowly the lithe male approached, everything else around him blurring away as he zoned in solely on his friend- his brother. What was he supposed to say? That it was alright to let go- to give up? None of this was fucking okay, he couldn’t force himself to say the words- even if it was just him being selfish.

He felt almost robotic as he slowly placed himself on the chair by the bed, staring at all of the tubes and wires still connecting to the shell what was once someone fierce and loyal to his loved ones. He nearly scoffed- how could he have survived so much only to lose the battle now?

Before he was able to truly taste freedom along with the others. He wouldn’t admit it, but he’d never forgive him for this, dying before they reached the finish line. Leaving them all behind- leaving Baëkhyun behind- it felt like a betrayal.

He clenched his eyes shut tightly, forcing away the disgusting tears that tried to break through his carefully pieced together façade. By the time he re-opened them, any hint of blue was long gone, replaced by dark blood red- so dark it nearly looked black.

“I won’t say this is okay, because it’s not- it never will be…You- all of you were supposed to be by my side, we were all supposed to reach freedom as one…” his voice strained as he choked out the words, teeth gritted, his mask cracking.

“I promise you; they will pay- I’ll make sure of it, blood will be spilt and they will feel our wrath. You will be avenged- and live on through us…We are one…always.” He promised, voice low- expression darkened and malicious. When he reached out to grasp Suhø’s hand with his own, he nearly jolted from how freezing the others skin felt, his grasp tightening as he looked at him one last time.

“I’m sorry I failed you” he whispered, placing his hand gently back on the bed before tearing himself away from this side- for the very last time.

He had failed to protect him.

Yifān finally approached when no one else was left, his expression stoic but even he couldn’t hide the agony his eyes betrayed. He bent over the bed, whispering lowly so no one would hear the words that were only meant for him. The olive-skinned male remained hunched over for quite some time- no one dared to rush him.

“It’s okay, Suhø-ah, You don’t have to hold on for us any longer…you’ve suffered enough. We’ll be alright, I promise I’ll look out for the younger ones…so…It’s okay- you can let go now…rest, you more then deserve it”

After those final words he stood up from his position, with one last look he then backed away and returned to the rest of the group, placing a comforting hand around Taø’s shoulder, who had quietened down his cries no reduced to soft sniffling every once and awhile.

_________________________________________

Scarlett POV

After the sudden flood of tears that wrecked through her, she felt drained and numb. Her gaze staring blankly towards the ceiling, the soft glow of the orb left by the x-clone casting a gentle light through the darkened room. Part of her wondered what had happened to cause Baëkhyun to leave to abruptly but she didn’t have the energy to speculate.

Everything seemed eerily quiet, not even the usual sounds of coming and going footsteps could be heard, she debated about trying to investigate- with her luck though, the door was probably locked.

She felt her eyelids slowly drooping, it became increasingly difficult to keep them open, exhaustion rushing through her weary body, crashing down heavily. She had managed to get back under the blankets Baëkhyun had ripped away from her earlier, taking small comfort in the warmth it provided her aching body.

The small moment of quiet peace was short lived however, an anguished wail jolting her as her body tumbled from the bed. The silver-eyed female could feel her heart jackhammering against her ribcage, slowly she gets to her feet, inching her way towards the door slowly- straining her ears to hear anything else happening.

It’s a long shot- but she tries the door handle anyway. To her shock, it opens.

‘in their rush, they must have forgotten to lock the door.’

Her first instinct is to run, to get as far from this place as possible then try to figure out a way back home- back to her friends, back to her Baekhyun. But just as quickly those thoughts as Baëkhyun’s icy words vividly replay in her mind- cruel and cutting, her lip trembles at the thought of them.

‘Let’s say you managed to escape from here- Where would you go? This isn’t the earth you know; you have no allies or plan of escape from this world. You’d be hunted down the moment your presence here was found out.”

“You are alone, outnumbered- you have no power in this situation- your only chance of even possible survival are the people in this building. For your sake, this attempt to flee or cause disruption- or whatever this was- ends now. So help me, if you fail to understand or even think or pulling another stunt I will not hesitate to go back to earth and kill off your precious little friends one by one. I’ll even save that little weak, idiotic, pathetic excuse of a boyfriend of yours for last- drawing it out as long as I possibly can.”

Her throat tightens as fresh tears threaten to break free, she grits her teeth, banging her fists against the door in frustration “Stop crying, when did you become so fucking weak?” she hisses at herself, she tries to steady her breathing- inhaling then exhaling slowly several times before she makes up her mind.

Even if she can’t escape, she can’t stomp out the curiosity of the anguished wail she heard moments ago- and so silently she twists the doorknob and makes her way out into the empty hallway, trying to remember what she’s seen of the layout so far.

_________________________

Thankfully, she didn’t get herself lost, that was the last thing she needed. Now that she’s closer towards the medical bay, the silence is broken by sounds of mourning, her stomach twists in anxiety- what had happened? Further more- why did she care?

Slowly she makes her way around the corner, finally spotting the large group- seeing all of them together for the first time since arriving almost made her turn tail and run back to the safety of her darkened room -prison- .

She licks her dry lips, a bad habit of hers, before peering through the opened doorway, sixteen surrounding one of the beds- and that’s when she sees it. Upon the bed was a body, now covered by a why sheet, but she knew who it was. When she had first woken up, the x-clone Suhø had occupied that space, connected to endless tubes, wires and machines.

Her heart clenched painfully, knowing what this meant-

Suhø was dead.

Enemy or not, she would never have wished this upon anyone.

So lost in her thoughts, she didn’t realize nor time to react when she had caught the attention of the pink-haired male, his eyes narrowing in pure malicious- voice roaring in pain. The next thing she felt was pain radiating in the back of her head as she found herself pinned to the wall, his large hands wrapping tightly around her thin throat in an iron grip.

Instinctively her hands wrapped around his wrists, clawing at them to get him to loosen his grip. Black spots blurring her vision- lungs burning for oxygen-

“You! This is your fault! you and those other bastards on earth, you killed him! It’s your fault! I should scorch you until you’re nothing but dust- then send it back in a matchbox to your precious little friends.” He snarled, mis-matched eyes glinting in pure unfiltered rage but also pain.

Somehow, part of her didn’t blame him. He was hurting, the loss of someone dear to him and she happened to be the scapegoat. Perhaps he would make good on his promise, even if it was painful- in the end it’d all be over, right?

His grip continued to tighten around her throat, he’d probably snap her neck at this point. Her hear was racing, lungs wanting to burst from the burn, the lack of air- screaming at her to breathe. Time slipped away from her, felt like hours had passed but in reality, had barely been a minute before several people rushed forward, trying to pry the usually gentle giant off of the thin framed girl.

“Chanyeøl! Enough!”

“Let go!”

“Fucking hell”

She barely managed to hear the strained voices around her, one moment he was hovering over her, crowding her space and the next- he was gone. Her body crumpling to the floor like a ragdoll as she raggedly coughed and spluttered for breath. Gentle hands rubbing her back and a soft cooing softly, telling her to focus on her breathing.

There was a scuffle, but she couldn’t focus, her head swimming, her blood rushing through her veins as the adrenaline started to fade. Someone was carding their fingers through her hair, but it didn’t matter, darkness overcame her as her body slumped into someone’s arms limply.

_______________________

Baëkhyun POV

He just reacted, the moment D.Ø, Yifān and Süga had wrangled him off and away from Scarlett, he rounded on the tall male, his fist smashing into his face- a loud crack bouncing off the walls as the younger male yelped in pain, holding his nose as blood seeped out over his face, fingers and clothes.

His eyes bright red as anger swirled menacingly through his gaze, out of everyone he expected better from his best friend. He was irritated, heart broken and beyond stressed. He didn’t want to have to worry about someone trying to attack said girl every other moment.

“I expected better of you, Yeøl, I expect better of all of you. She’s not your personal scapegoat. We need her- the next time any of you try something I will make an example of that person.” He threatened through his anger, though they knew he’d never truly do anything to put any of the members in fatal danger- that didn’t mean he wouldn’t raise hell and make them regret it thoroughly.

Just ask Chën- who shuddered and shrank away from the male, his rage rolling off in waves through his expression remained soft as always.

Chanyeøl shifted his gaze away, instant regret and shame covering his features. Taęyöng silently rushing to his side to deal with the injury the snowy-haired male had inflicted.

Huffing out a deep sigh, his gaze briefly landed on the now covered body, his stomach twisting uncomfortably- they needed to deal with burial arrangements, he knew they wouldn’t be able to hide this from the watch dogs, they’d be at their front door probably sooner than later.

“Yifān-“

“I know, don’t worry. I’ll handle it” the older of the two responded, Baëkhyun nodded curtly before moving towards Ląy who remained crouched on the ground, holding the unconscious female, already working on inspecting the damage. Large raw bruises already forming in the shape of fingerprints against her ivory skin.

“Is she alright?” he asked tersely.

“she will be, let’s get her back to her room so I can heal her” the healer responded. Before he had a chance to, Baëk swooped own, his arms carefully wrapping around her before lifting her into the air, cradling her against his chest.

“For now, unless told otherwise, no one is allowed in hall B expects for Ląy, Süga, D.Ø, Xiümin and myself.” He spoke over his shoulder, leaving the area with Ląy falling into step with his quick strides.

___________________________________________

Ląy was able to heal her easily enough though his overall demeanor was subdued and downtrodden, once he finished Baëkhyun carefully tucked her back into bed, the soft orb of light continuing to hover by her bedside. For a few moments neither of them said a word, the events of the day weighing down on them, trying to process it all.

“it’s not-“

“I failed-“

The pair had started speaking at the same time before stopping, small huffs of mirthless laughter escaping. Baëkhyun gestured for the dimple-faced male to continue.

“I was just going to say, I know what you’re thinking- it wasn’t your fault you know.”

“Heh, funny because I know it’s my fault” he countered, unable to meet his gaze. The moment was cut short as a soft knock sounded by the door, once it opened to reveal Suga who walked in- his body langue nearly robotic and tense- both males frowned.

“What is it?”

“…Yukëi was checking the monitors…One of the watch dogs have made a 'social' visit to the upper building, How do you want us to proceed?”

Of course, he should have known more would go wrong today, because why the hell not? He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to force the red in his eyes to disappear and his normal icy blue to return. He didn’t need any stupid watch dogs poking nd prodding him with annoying questions.

“Fucking hell, No one do anything- stay down here. I’ll go deal with it” he nearly hissed under his breath. His gaze flicking down to the sleeping female, he clenched his jaw- his fingers absentmindedly caressing the side of her cheek- until he realized his action and pulled away from her entirely as if burned.

“They can’t find out she’s here.” he muttered darkly, turning on his heel he hastily left the room, making his way to the above-ground building that served as a diversion of sorts in record timing. The moment he walked through the empty building, his gaze glowering up at the security cameras- always watching, always being a pain in the ass, he wanted to flip them off but refrained from doing so.

With one last calming breath, he made his way outside- the black flames sun burning brightly up above in the blood sky. Slowly his gaze found who he was looking for, one of the watch dogs leaning against a decaying tree. The moment their gazes met the younger male smirked, making no move to leave his spot.

“Ah, Hyung, it’s nice to see you again” the doe-eyed male spoke cheerily. Baëkhyun had zero patience left- everything was a shit show today and he really didn’t want to deal with this right now.

“First of all- don’t call me that, I’m not your Hyung, brat.” He spit out, eyes narrowing in distaste.

“Secondly- I’d say the same, but then I’d be lying. I wonder- how would those on earth feel if they found out what traitors you are, to your own kind. That’s cruel, even to my standards” his soft voice mocked, lips forming a fake pout.

The male bit the inside of his cheek as he watched the pale male, before a taunting smile graced his lips.

“We do what we must to survive. Those who don’t end up being killed-“

“By you- correct?”

Uncomfortable, heavy silence settled between them. Sighing, Baëkhyun rolled his eyes before getting to the point, quite bluntly.

“So, tell me. I doubt this is a social visit…What do you want… Jeon Jungkook?”


	13. Moonlight

Baëkhyun POV

He felt the events of the day weighing heavily on him, by the time he made it back ‘home’- after an unpleasant, incredibly annoying conversation with the watch-dog more like a watch bunny , the milky skinned male was truly ready to implode.

The other members where nowhere to be seen- not that it surprised him, With Yifān taking care of Suhø’s burial arrangements, they were either with him or off somewhere else in mourning. It was probably better he didn’t come into contact with people more the needed, or they’d just suffer his misplaced rage.

______________________________________________

“Aish, cold as always, aren’t you?”

Sighing heavily, Baëkhyun clenched his jaw tightly before replying,

“What.Do.You.Want? Don’t waste my time”

“Alright, alright. No need to bite my head off” the younger mused with faux mirth.

“Simply…checking in, some of the higher ups thought you and your group had been…quiet.” He spoke lowly, walking around the older male in casual strides, eyes him carefully. Baëkhyun’s expression revealed nothing, used to tricks such as these.

“We, unlike you, don’t always plot away in dark dungeons. I thought you were a smart kid, if not you I would’ve thought at least Kim Namjoon had some brains. How could you all have fallen for such cheap tricks- being so cowardly to even kill two of your own”

he hissed, he honestly didn’t really care for the people they had killed- having little sympathy for any of the ‘original’ forms- what got his blood boiling was the fact they had turned on their own, it was the lowest of the low and made his skin crawl.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes briefly, an unnamed emotion passing through his expression before quickly disappearing.

“Don’t take the moral high ground with me, like you aren’t blood soaked” he retorted as he turned on his heel, seemingly done with this mostly one-sided conversation.

“Whatever you all are trying to hide- we’ll find out eventually. I’d be careful if I were you, Hyung, can you lot really handle another war?” he mocked, a cruel glint in his eyes as he left the area leaving a bristling, fuming Baekhyun in his wake.

_________________________________________

Slowly he made his way back to Scarlett’s room, knowing Ląy was probably still with her. He quietly opened the door to find the dimpled-face quietly reading some sort of book while the moon-eyed girl had formed some sort of blanket cocoon, hidden away underneath.

“Is she awake?” he questioned; tone lightly amused by the scene. The opal eyed male looked up, dog-earing the page before closing the book, placing it on his lap.

“No, she’s still asleep. She managed to do that in the process” he mused, gesturing towards her cocooned form. “So…how did it go? Which one was out there?”

“Jeon Jungkook, annoying brat.” He muttered darkly, his hand rubbing roughly at his face in exasperation.

“I see…do they know?-“

“No, I think he and the other watch dogs might suspect something, but they have no proof. We’ll simply need to be careful. Though they will probably find out about Suhø sooner rather than later so we’ll need to come up with a plausible cover story…Today has gone to literal shit.”

“The others went to bury his body with Yifān, do you want to join them? I’ll stay with her-“

“No, it’s probably best I’m not around them, not right now.” He murmured softly, eyes downcast to avoid his Hyung’s always gentle gaze- it was too overwhelming. For a few moments the pair didn’t speak, the weariness of the day hitting them both as they let it sink in.

“Baëkhyun-ah, about…those people, should we tell her? I know it will come up eventually but perhaps-“

“How would we go about that? ‘oh hey- several of your friends who your group has been trying to find and save have not only joined the enemy but were the cause of two of their close friend’s death?’ Yeah, that’ll go over really well.” He scoffed.

The pair failed to notice the shifting body under the blanket, or the way she stiffened as she heard the two quietly discussing. Scarlett had actually been awake for quite some time, but didn’t feel like facing any of them- even the ever sweet Ląy. Knowing he’d continue one-sided conversations in an attempt to get her to speak.

So, she pretended to be asleep, allowing her to hear everything that went on around the darkened room. The current admission of words caused her mind to immediately spiral in shock.

No…He was lying, this had to be some sick joke-

Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her heart thumping so loudly she wouldn’t have been surprised if the whole building had heard it. She needed air, as she remained underneath the safety of her blanket cocoon, it now felt suffocating and hot. Closing in around her steadily as she tried to process the words she was hearing.

Did he know she was awake? Was he just trying to get under her skin? Trying to get her to speak, even if it was in anger?

Before she was able to stop herself, she sprang up from the bed- tossing the blankets hastily to the side- her breathing coming out in strained puffs and her skin felt flushed as she gazed at the pair of speechless males. She broke her silence- just for this moment.

“You’re awake!” Ląy smiled gently, not even the ‘10’ burn-scar under his eyes taking away from how genuinely relieved he appeared. “How are-“

“Liar.” She spoke softly, afraid they’d her the quiver in her voice should she speak any louder, she focused on the snowy-haired male before her who eyed her curiously, one eyebrow raised in questioning.

“What?”

“You. What you said- you’re lying” she hissed out, hands fisting the hem of the over-sized hoodie she wore. The male didn’t speak for a moment, seemingly trying to keep from losing what patience he had left after this whirlwind of a day.

“and what, exactly, am I lying about?”

“You...I heard you just now talking about…something about ‘watch dogs’ you said one of their names- I heard you talk about Jungkook- he’s not- they wouldn’t…you were the ones who kidnapped him and the rest of Bangtan expect for Yoongi- they aren’t!”

She knew she sounded almost manic, she felt light-headed, unable to breathe enough oxygen back into her panicked body- she could feel the telltale signs of a panic attack quickly approaching, she ignored it however, pushing on- It shouldn’t have been such a surprise that he would stoop so low, he was her enemy.

Ląy tried to keep her calm, sensing her rising anxiety and anger, his hand reaching out to offer support- but the female flinched away from the healer, so he quickly backed off, a forlorn frown taking over his expression.

“Scarlett…I know this is a lot for you to take in- you weren’t supposed to hear this- at least, not like this. Please, just-“

“Why are you so shocked? Is it truly so surprising that one of yours has become corrupted? Are you naïve to believe that just because they once shared the same morals- beliefs- pain- that they are above falling so low that they themselves, won’t become the monster they were made to be? You’re smarter than that, little dove, what use would I have to lie? Answer me- when have I ever, lied to you?”

Baëkhyun had cut lay off mid-sentence, the healers gentle cooing voice replaced by the other’s soft, cruelly honest voice. He had advanced closer as he spoke, invading her personal space- hiss own misplaced anger fueling his actions in the moment, even if he’d come to regret it as soon as that same rage drained out of him.

“Who…you said two of them died-who?”

“Scarlett…I’m not sure that’s-“

“Kim Taehyung and Jung Hoseok” the other answered simply, much to Ląy’s dismay. Scarlett felt her throat tighten as she tried to suppress unshed tears that threatened to break free. Thought of Yoongi and how much this news would absolutely destroy him should ever get the chance to find out.

Now Baëkhyun was kneeling down next to the bed, allowing them both to be at eye level, his intense gaze piercing right through her fragile state. He ignored the discomfort he felt, he knew he was pushing her but perhaps this is what needed to be done to get her to work with them and stop resisting.

“That large group of friends- the NCT lot, are also gone. All of them are dead except for the two remaining on your earth. Do you understand? You might think we’re the enemy- the monsters- but we never laid a finger on your precious little friends. This is bigger than you lot allowed yourselves to see.”

“No…No, no, no.” she mumbled, body shaking violently, her gaze unseeing as tears filled rolled down her flushed cheeks. She felt herself shutting down as the panic attack she’d been fighting off finally consumed, wrapping itself tightly around her very being.

This wasn’t happening, this was a lie-

Even if she didn’t want to admit it, no matter what he had said during any of their encounters- Baëkhyun had never lied, even if it was something that sent her spiraling. His soft, cruel voice always relayed the truth.

A low growl emitted from her throat, her eyes slowly turning sharper the father she slipped into the darkness that swarmed her mind. Her nails grew now resembling that of a wolf’s claws. The next moment she had pounced on top of Baëkhyun, snarling in her half-shifted form.

The male didn’t react, simply staring her down with a purposeful blank expression.

“I hate you” she growled, tears still cascading down her face, some even dripping onto his own. Despair, hurt and hopelessness swirling through her eyes causing Baëkhyun’s gaze to soften briefly before hardening once more.

“That’s fine, I don’t care.”

“Enough!” the pair startled, forgetting for a moment that the healer was in the room before the thin female felt arms wrapping around her torso and pulling her off and away from the snowy-haired male who remained on the ground.

“Scarlett, just breathe okay?” Ląy’s soothing voice cut through the fog that had covered her mind. Slowly her half-shifted form receding until she was back to her normal self again- at least physically normal. Her expression was hallow and unseeing as she was carefully tucked back into bed.

Slowly Baëkhyun got to his feet, gnawing at his lower lip as he watched her, the explosive rage he had felt from the day now gone as regret and anger- at himself- filled its place. Once again, he had reacted rashly, going too far and taking it out on her- the same thing he had broken Chanyeøl nose and beaten Chën for.

Why did she get under his skin so easily? He felt like he was in a landmine when he was around her and it irritated him to no end. He was torn between fleeing the scene once again or staying to comfort her. He met Ląy’s disappointed gaze who watched him sternly, frown plastered to his face.

He fucked up; he didn’t need to be told so to know he really fucked up.

“Scarlett-“

“Perhaps you should give her some space, okay?” how the elder of the two was able to remain calm and gentle was beyond Baëkhyun, but for now he simply heeded his words and quickly slipped out of the room, regretfully leaving the now despondent female behind.

Hopefully Ląy would be able to get through to her better than he could.

__________________________________________________

Ląy POV

An exhausted sigh escaped his lips as he peered down at the silently crying female, her breathing coming out in quick short gasps while her body continued to tremble, her already pale skin nearly paper white as she clutched onto the linen tightly.

Slowly, he sat on the edge of the bed, speaking carefully as to not make the situation worse.

“I know we’ve given you no reason to trust us, but, what Baëkhyun-ah said - though brash- is the truth. Once you and your friends had escaped all those years ago, and sealed anything having to do with the red force away to this x-planet…well a lot has happened.” His voice trailed off, his hand had instinctively reached toward her shaking form, rubbing light soothing motions over her bicep.

She hadn’t flinched or pushed him away, so it was a start.

“I’ll explain more to you at a later time, I know this is all so overwhelming and a major blow mentally and emotionally. Like I told you before, I will not harm you- I want to be a support for you, any way I can or you allow me to be.”

“…Why?” her voice was hoarse and dull, watery eyes peering up at him from underneath the blanket she had become custom to burying herself away in, he almost wanted to coo at how small and adorable she looked. Though her tears broke his heart.

“why what?”

“Since I was brought here, you’ve been so…Kind…Though I’m your enemy…though I’ve pretty much ignored any attempt of conversation, you-“ her hand gestured for emphasis that she wasn’t able to currently form into words. He shrugged lightly, his deep dimple appearing with the soft smile that graced his expression.

“I don’t see it that way, I know that to you and the other ‘original’ forms, we were created out of pain and darkness- that scares them, and fear is a dangerous weapon. On both sides, it keeps us from working together- which is what our true enemy wants. Because if work as one, we’d truly be unstoppable. So my point is, You aren’t my enemy and I would never treat you as such. I know you have weariness of us- but I also see how you and my original self were the only ones to keep an open mind for us as well. I hope that you can come to trust me as you do Yixing one day” he finished, the smile never leaving his face, his opal eyes radiating warmth and genuine kindness.

“…You sound like him” she mumbled, unable to stop herself from vocalizing the sudden thought. She felt her cheeks heating up “I mean, you and Yixing are so similar- just different on the outside…” she tried to explain. He simply smiled wider,

In that moment, she decided she wasn’t going to allow the darkness- the weakness- within her to take over without a fight. She’d survive this place and she would get back to the others, back home. The first step she decided to do was to except the olive-branch Ląy had tried to extend since the moment she arrived.

“None of this is easy or okay, but…I believe you, and I’ll try…Thank you, Ląy”

The fair-skinned male brightened with her words, truly reminding her of a unicorn- she stiffened when he ended up wrapping his arms around her small frame, offering a gentle warmth she hadn’t felt since being ripped away from her Baekhyun, from her home.

Everything crashed down in that moment as she found herself returning his comforting hold, her heart heavy and weary as she wept openly, unable to hold it in any longer- and he let her. Soft murmurs of encouragement and empathy slipping past his lips as he gently rocked her back and forth in their own little bubble, for just a quiet moment.

________________________________________________

In the end, once Scarlett had fallen asleep in pure exhaustion, cheeks tear-stained from the amount of tears that had burst forth, he gently wiped away any strays before tucking her in and silently slipping out of the room, making sure to grab his discarded book on the way out.

“Ah, good timing- I’m here to take over watch” a pleasant voice spoke, Ląy turned his gaze towards the frosty-haired male.

“Thanks, she’s asleep right now…how are you feeling?” he asked, Xiümin sighed before shrugging.

“I don’t think it’s hit fully yet- like for most of us I would assume. Get some rest, Ląy, you look worn down.”

“I will…but I should probably check on-“

“Baëkhyun-ah? I saw him storming off earlier, I think he went back to his room. Did something else happen?”

“hmm…I guess you could say that, thanks Min, I’ll see you later” he hummed lightly before slowly making his way out of hall ‘B’ and heading towards hall ‘A’ where Baëkhyun’s room resided. Days like this he felt like the resident therapist- not that he was complaining, always wanting to help any way he could.

He knocked several times before opening the door, finding the male sprawled out on top of his bed- though somehow his face chain still in perfect position- as he blankly stared at the ceiling. Though the state of his room proved otherwise.

Scorch marks scattered the room, lamps completely shattered and glass littering all over the place, and the bookshelf broken in half - books scattered all over the floor.

“Feeling better?”

“ugh, not right now” the other replied grumpily, his lips forming into a soft pout that reminded Ląy of a grumpy puppy. His fingers picking at a random spot on his comforter irritably as he avoided the older male’s gaze.

“So…Is she okay?” he grumbled softly.

“I’m not sure about okay, but she’s better at least.”

“hmm…”

“Tomorrow, you should try talking- not threatening or trying to push her buttons, just talk to her. I think she’ll surprise you Baëkhyun-ah, you need her help- you said so yourself, stop trying to be the cold-hearted monster you try to portray and see how much further you can get by working together- not against.”

He was met by silence, but honestly wasn’t expecting the other to have a ‘heart-to-heart’ with him any time soon. He had built so many walls to keep others out, it wasn’t going to be easy breaking them down. He continued to hope that with Scarlett now here, she’d be able to bring the best out of him instead of the darkness he had allowed to take root.

“Get some rest, okay? It’s been a hard day for everyone- it’s okay to feel Baëkhyun-ah” he finished softly before leaving him to his own thoughts for the night.

Right now, everyone was hurting- whether it was in pain, anger or fear. This didn’t deter Ląy from hoping however, that this event could start to bridge the gap between them and Scarlett and even further down the road it could bridge the gap between the clones and originals.

He knew much more ominous threats continue to loom closer and it was going to take all they had to survive, the loss today was a major blow- he just hoped it’d be the last they would have to mourn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, this feels like a filler chapter, I'm sorry ￣へ￣''
> 
> So...some truth bombs in this chapter and some progress atleast between Ląy and Scarlett...Like I said, he's just such a sweetheart and I couldn't hold out any longer with keeping him at arms length. She might not 100% trust him yet but it's definitley progress! lol
> 
> Baëkhyun keeps snapping at Scarlett at the worst of times...oops (he's such an angry puppy) ＞︿＜
> 
> Anyway, Hope every is having a good day/night! I haven't slept at all (sorry for any mistakes) so I'm going to crash now, bye~ 
> 
> (～o￣3￣)～


	14. New Beginning's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note at the end  
> (double post today!)

When Scarlett finally opened her eyes the next day, she groaned quietly in pain. Her eyes stung and felt puffy from who much she cried the previous day, her head throbbing from the stress. A soft frown forming-

She felt like she was forgetting something, grasping at a fading memory- something important that slipped away as her muddled mind began to clear and wake up. For now she pushed the feeling away, if it was something truly important, it would come back to her- right?

Suddenly the events of the previous day crashed into her like a freight train, her cheeks staining red in embarrassment as she thought back to how it all played out.

The fact she had not only wept openly in front of Ląy but had also clung onto him like a child just made her want to hide away all over again. She shook her head in frustration, she vowed that she was going to doo all she could to get back home and part of that included in facing whatever came her way while she was here.

She knew that the opal-eyed male wouldn’t hold what had happened over her, it just wasn’t in his nature to do so. The thought of facing Baëkhyun and the other x-clones, however, did cause anxiety to rear its ugly head once again.

Slowly she crept out of her bed, shivering as her feet touched the cold tile of the floor. She had no idea what time it was, or what was waiting for her beyond the door she eyed tiredly, debating how much longer she’d have to herself before someone barged into the newfound safety she felt within the room.

The need to freshen up and change out of the clothes she had worn since waking up days ago won against wanting to hide. A small pout forming in thought, what was she going to do about clothes? Was she going to be stuck borrowing from the people here? She groaned.

“What the hell…” she mumbled before silently making her way towards the door, she gently turned the knob- surprised it was unlocked- before slowly inching it open, the light that poured in from the hall stinging her already irritated eyes.

“What is it? Do you need something?” a raspy voice drawled quietly, she almost flinched- having not noticed the figure who leaned casually next to her door, indigo eyes watching disinterestedly-

Süga, he much like Yoongi never gave away what was going on in that mind of his and she’d be lying if she said that in this moment it didn’t unnerve her. She gnawed on her bottom lip before speaking;

“Uh…I- I was wondering if I could…freshen up- like, take a shower…that sort of thing” she truly felt like an idiot having to talk to him of all people about this, shying away from his unrelenting gaze. Wishing in this moment the sweet, dimpled healer would suddenly pop up and take Süga’s place.

He said nothing at first, simply watching her in thought until an almost silent sigh escaped his lips, dragging one of his pale hands through his hair tiredly. Without verbally answering the female, he walked over towards the door that was across the hall from her own, when opened to reveal it was a bathroom.

“There should be towels and what not in there…” he paused briefly eyeing her clothes before continuing “I think they gave you D.Ø’s clothes…I’ll get someone get to another pair” he huffed before stepping away, allowing her to step into the bathroom before shutting the door- making sure to lock it.

She sighed, resting her palms against the sink counter,

Inhale…exhale…

She repeated the quiet mantra several times before her gaze shifted around the small room, it was a simple bathroom but clean and that’s all that mattered. Her slender fingers reaching out to turn on the shower, allowing the water to heat up.

She hesitated, still feeling out of sorts, she huffed in annoyance before stripping out of her clothes and quick stepping into the shower, almost groaning in relief as the hot water pelted into her tense and weary body, her muscles slowly relaxing under the steady stream.

If it were under different circumstances, she honestly would have stayed until the water turned ice cold, wanting to soak up as much of the heat as possible. Though, knowing what awaited for her beyond the locked door kept her on guard and not being truly able to enjoy the moment.

Quickly washing herself- grabbing blindly at whatever soap and hair wash was there- she finished in record time before shutting off the shower faucet and wrapping a large towel around her slim body before stepping out of the shower.

She avoided looking up into the mirror, not wanting to know what she’d see in the reflection glaring back at her. Silently she used one of the smaller towels, soaking up the excess water dripping from her long locks of hair.

Several quick knocks sounded lightly against the door, breaking her out of her auto-pilot like motions.

“Little one~ I’ve got some clothes for you~” a light teasing voice sang, she couldn’t refrain from rolling her eyes- That was definitely Xiümin.

Double checking to make sure she was properly covered, she creaked open the door- just the bare minimum as she peeked her head out, her gaze coming to find the pale face with icy blue eyes- the scars running over his left eye doing nothing to mar his handsome face- watching her with a mischievous glint,

His cat-like eyes slightly crinkling at the corners when his smile widened.

“Hello little one! I feel like we haven’t gotten to speak since our fun back on earth~ How are you?” his gaze shifted down slightly, but the moment it did a hand reached out, smacking him in the back of the head as he whined out in response.

“Enough, are you trying to get us into trouble? You’re smarter than this.” Süga mumbled gruffly, not even sparing her a glance as he grabbed the clothes from the elder and pushed them into Scarlett’s hands.

“I was just joking, you know that, right little one?” the frost-haired male asked, his gummy smile on full display. Said female had barely any time to respond, feeling like she got whiplash from how these people acted around her from one moment to the next.

“Um…”

“What the hell is this?” the soft voice with danger lurking underneath she had come to know anywhere asked, her slowly turned her head towards his voice- there Baëkhyun stood, brooding once again as he eyes scanned the scene before him.

His eye twitching in poorly suppressed irritation as he stalked forward, his hand reaching out as he gently pushed Scarlett back into the bathroom, shutting the door sharply before rounding on the pair, Eyes narrowing at the elder of the two, who simply smirked teasingly.

“She’s quite pretty isn’t she-“

A low snarl followed by a loud yelp was heard in response,

“Come on, Baëkkie~ take a joke!” Xiumin cackled before making a quick exit.

“pervert.” Baëkhyun hissed lowly, turning his glare towards Süga who only shrugged.

“What? I didn’t do anything. I’m not responsible for other people’s actions.”

______________________________________________

By the time she was finished and exited the bathroom, both Süga and Xiümin had left the area leaving behind-

Baëkhyun

Fuck, she wasn’t expecting to see him so soon after the events of last night and how that had turned out. Where was Ląy?

No, she couldn’t start allowing herself to rely on him so easily- she had to keep her guard up. She might quietly go along with that she had to- but she couldn’t afford to get too comfortable with the situation, it could end with death if she did.

Why was she so conflicted? The people here might look like her friends- her loved ones on earth but they weren’t, she scolded herself silently.

The silver-eyed female found herself avoiding his obvious stare, picking at the hem of the fresh over-sized hoodie she wore and the baggy sweatpants that she had to pull up until they rested just under her breasts-

She really needed her own clothes.

“Look at me” he ordered suddenly, she worried her bottom lip, refusing to meet is gaze until an irritated sigh was heard and the next moment, she felt his soft, slender fingers lightly gripping her chin, guiding her gaze up until she was met with his icy blue eyes- piercing as always.

She gritted her teeth, preparing for any cruel words he might throw out next-

“I’m sorry…”

Oh….she wasn’t expecting that.

This was probably the softest she had ever heard his voice, no hint of the usual sharpness that laced his tone. He quickly retracted his grasp on her jaw and took a couple of steps away from her- staying out of her personal space.

Scarlett blinked several times, trying to process another of his drastic mood swings, to put it simply she was speechless. When she made no attempt to respond, he huffed out a quiet sigh before turning on his heel and walking down the hall.

“Follow me” he simply called over his shoulder, and so still in a slight daze, she followed.

______________________________________

Baëkhyun POV

The snowy-haired male was unable to find sleep last night, the recent events haunting him- especially the broken, haunted look of watery silver eyes, refusing to leave him alone. He hated to admit that Ląy was right, he needed to go about things differently. The healer’s words refusing to leave him be.

“Tomorrow, you should try talking- not threatening or trying to push her buttons, just talk to her. I think she’ll surprise you Baëkhyun-ah, you need her help- you said so yourself, stop trying to be the cold-hearted monster you try to portray and see how much further you can get by working together- not against.”

Who the hell asked him anyway? ‘Lay and his stupid dimples’ he thought grumpily.

He needed to stop taking out his misplaced rage on her, but why did it bother him so much?

So, it didn’t help when he walked in on the scene of Xiümin cheekily eyeing the ivory-skinned female who was in only a towel, skin lightly flushed from the shower moments before-

He felt blood rush to his milky cheeks, quickly shaking off the thoughts before rounding on Xiümin- after gently pushing the female back into the bathroom and shutting the door-

Though the elder ended up escaping, laughing the whole way- he’d definitely hunt him down later.

Why was he constantly surrounded by those who always pushed his buttons?

His heart thudded anxiously as they made their way down the halls silently, why was he nervous? Probably since he’d end up fucking up again most likely. He clenched and unclenched his jaw several times, trying to ground himself before attempting conversation.

“We’re going to meet Kāi and he’s taking us into town.”

“What?” the surprise was clear in her voice, his snuck a glance at the shocked female, the only word drifting through his mind: ‘cute’, he nearly tripped over his own feet- what the fuck was that? He cleared his throat, pushing the foolish thought away.

“Unless you plan on stealing more of D.Ø’s clothes, You’ll be here….indefinitely, so you might as well have what you need? Yes?”

“But…how? This planet-“ she cut herself off, not wanting to reawaken his anger. Baëkhyun frowned, sensing her unease around him- like walking on eggshells. Has he really damaged her that much ?

“Yes, this planet is quite odd compared to earth- looks like death, doesn’t it?” he mused “However, we aren’t the only ones here- though we are far removed from the rest of them, there are people and towns and life here…just different” he shrugged as if it were obvious.

One thing was certain- Scarlett had no idea what to expect on x-planet, she was definitely out of her depth here.

“Good morning!”

Scarlett felt relief flood her system- the thought in itself surprising- as Ląy came into their view, smiling gently at the pair, giving Baëkhyun a knowing look before focusing on the dark-haired female.

“Feeling better?” he asked, tilting his head towards her as he spoke, she shrugged in response. “I’m alright…thank you…for last night” she mumbled, the elder simply ruffled her hair, much to her indignation.

“Are you going to join us?” she asked quietly, feeling Baëkhyun’s piercings gaze on her as she spoke with the healer. He smiled sympathetically before shaking his head lightly.

“I’m sorry, I won’t be able to…I know it’s a bit nerve-wracking, but you’ll be alright. Despite his grumpy attitude, Baëkhyun-ah wouldn’t let any harm come to you. Kāi is pretty easy to get along with as well, just try your best- okay?” he encouraged, squeezing her shoulder in comfort.

Scarlett had to resign herself to her fate and simply nodded. Baëkhyun cleared his throat loudly to break up the little moment,

“If you two are done conspiring, it’s time to go” he motioned towards the green-haired male -when had he shown up?- who simply watched the scene with amusement. Ląy shook his head, his warm smile never fading.

“Good luck, Baëkhyunee~” he teased quietly before skipping out of his reach so he wouldn’t get hit and disappearing back into the medical bay.

“for fucks sake” he grumbled before shoving a piece of cloth towards the startled female, who carefully took it from his grasp, confusion clear in her expression.

“It’s a face mask, you’ll need it for when we go out. We don’t want anyone recognizing who we are incase any of the red force are around.” He stated softly, while securing his own face mask, while still keeping on his face-chain underneath.

‘with these two, of course we’ll stick out’ the thought crossed her mind, causing the corner of her lips to twitch in rare amusement as she secured the black facemask over her face.

“Now before we go, you have to follow these simple rules, understood?”

She nodded, albeit a little reluctantly.

“number one; You are to stay in our line of sight at all times, no exceptions. If you even think of trying to run-“ he stopped abruptly, seemingly in sudden conflict before reigning himself back in as his usual neutral expression returned.

“Just, don’t cause trouble, okay? Number two- Keep the face mask on at all times, we can’t risk any one of us being recognized alright? Number three; Incase something does happen, you listen to whatever Kāi or myself tell you to do- do you understand?” he finished, eyes narrowing- searching for any sign of resistance.

“…I understand” she replied, voice sullen.

Baëkhyun sighed, why was this so fucking difficult? Perhaps he should have sent her with Ląy and Kāi instead….Well, he wasn’t going to back out now. He gestured for Kāi who simply walked over, taking each of their hands clasping them to his own, a grin splaying across his expression,

“Ready?”

“Let’s just go already” came Baëkhyun’s soft response, the sharp undertone back in its rightful place, while Scarlett just focused her gaze on the floor. Kāi raised an eyebrow at Baëkhyun, cheeky grin plastered in place and the pale male had to keep himself from bashing his head against the wall.

“Alright, to town we go~”

The next moment the trio disappeared. This was going to be another draining day- Baëkhyun just knew it- and highly dreaded it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some fluff moments for the angst lurking just around the corner ＞︿＜ ( •̀ ω •́ )
> 
> (sorry not sorry)
> 
> X-Exo definitley loves to push Baëkhyun's buttons, poor puppy. 
> 
> Every time I set out to work on and finish an update for Stained Souls I get distracted by BST instead and so my writer's block for the other continues to grow...oops
> 
> (っ °Д °;)っ 
> 
> Hope everyone is doing well! Thank you for all the love and support for this story so far, sorry this is a bit short,,,dealing with some things, meh, Anyway, have a wonderful day!🖤🖤


	15. Paralyzed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting recently, Saturday we had to put my dog, Snowball, down...he was 17. It's kind of sent me spiraling so next update might take a bit. I'll get it out as soon as I can focus....
> 
> Hope everyone is well and taking care of yourselves.

Fuck…How the hell did they find herself in this…situation?

Things had taken a sudden dangerous turn when Baëkhyun had spotted fucking Jungkook and Seokjin casually walking amongst the crowd, carrying bags filled to the brim with food.

Cursing bitterly, the snowy-haired male gripped her upper arm tightly as he dragged her abruptly around a corner of some buildings, pulling her deeper into the alley between them before pinning her to the bricked wall while pressing his body against her own, his hand reaching up to press her head against his chest, tucked under his chin while his hand entangled themselves through her long dark silky locks of hair.

feeling the heat radiating off his body, his scent swirling around- nearly suffocating her. Warm undertones of spiced cinnamon filling her senses.

She could hear- as well as feel- his heart beating wildly within his ribcage, betraying his calm and collected movements. At the moment they had no idea where Kāi had wondered off to, he just silently hoped that the watch dogs wouldn’t spot him.

______________________________________

*few hours before*

Within seconds the trio had appeared in the outskirts of some random town, she found herself backing out of their close proximity, still feeling uneasy when any of them were in her personal space. Her silver eyes took in their current surroundings, unable to keep hidden to shock that despite how barren and desolate most of the x-planet was -at least from what she had seen-

This town was…normal, at least as normal as possible with blood-red skies and black flamed suns, casting the world in a dark-tinted view. Barely any plant life surrounded the area, and the few that did looked close to death’s door- a few odd ones seemed to flourish in harsh environment despite the decay, like it thrived on the death around itself.

In a way it was oddly beautiful.

The people that milled about seemed to have sicker-looking complexion, dark circles around their eyes and ashen skin-

She wondered if it was just due to how the atmosphere was here, despite their fragile looking appearances- most of them seemed to be in good spirits.

“To them, this is all they’ve ever known. If they ever saw earth, your earth, they’d think you were the odd ones” Baëkhyun answered her unspoken questions.

“Though a good majority of this planet has been abandoned due to the decay and destruction, there are places like this that are quite lively” Kāi chimed in as he lifted the hood of his jacket, covering his shockingly green hair, Baëkhyun copying his movements covering his own snowy hair.

A soft frown marred her expression, thoughts of how bad the abandoned areas he had briefly mentioned were and how they had gotten that way, she filed these questions away for the next time she saw Ląy, not wanting to get on Baëk’s bad side today with her increasing amount of questions.

Scarlett lightly flinched when she felt soft hands tugging at her jacket’s hood, pausing in ministrations when they felt her body jerk away on instinct, she turned her gaze to find Baëkhyun silently staring, his expression unreadable due to his facemask.

Once he secured the hood over her head, he quickly backed away while clearing his throat. If she hadn’t known better, he almost seemed hurt by her response, that thought made her stomach twist in guilt.

Why?

“Alright, let’s get going. We shouldn’t be out here longer than necessary” he spoke curtly, she didn’t understand how he could sound so sharp yet soft at the same time, he was an enigma to her- so different from her sweet puppy-eyed Baekhyun.

Just the thought of him caused her heart to drop in heaviness, she missed him and prayed that he was alright- that they all were.

The forlorn female was taken out of her thoughts when tanned fingers threaded themselves with her own, she looked up in surprise to see Kāi grinning down at her before simply dragging her along. She hadn’t noticed- though Kāi most certainly did- Baëkhyun’s glare of death as he watched the pair hand in hand walk further into the town.

Oh, how Kāi loved getting under his skin- he was such a rare occurrence until Scarlett had arrived and he was planning on pushing the limits.

“Come on, Baëkhyun-ah, or you’ll be left behind~” he called after the male who sulkily followed after them.

__________________________________

Scarlett hated shopping- of any kind- this was a known fact.

Well, back on earth anyway- for those that knew her. She loathed the whole process, especially when it came to clothes. She rather order what was needed online when she absolutely had to, not to mention with her being sandwiched between the two x-clones, the younger of the two male’s still refusing to let go of her hand what was she, a child?

Needless to say, it just made everything even more odd. None of this felt okay, she should have been thinking of a way to use this as a chance to escape. But who was she kidding? Even if she got away from this lot, she still had no idea how they were able to go back and forth between here and earth like they did.

If what Ląy and Baëkhyun had told her was true, and Red Force found out she was here and captured her, a gut feeling told her that she’d come to regret it, then if she stayed with the x-clones and tried to form some sort of peace with them in the meantime.

So why did it still feel like she was betraying her friends?

“Are you listening?”

She blinked away her thoughts to find both males had stopped walking, while Kāi’s gaze was simply curious, Baëkhyun’s was skeptical and only slightly, or so he’d say worried.

“Sorry, did you say something?...” she murmured softly, avoiding their prolonged gaze, Baëkhyun only huffed in annoyance.

“Well, let’s not just stand here like idiots. Let’s check out this store I suppose”.

She agreed silently, unable to find her voice all of a sudden, so the trio stepped into a small shop and the torture began.

__________________________

Quite some time had passed, with each passing moment she just wanted to rip out her hair- had she mentioned she loathed shopping? In an attempt to move this along, once she found her size, she simply began tossing different kinds of hoodies, leggings and some over-sized sleepwear.

The mis-matched eyed male watched on in amusement as she trudged around the quiet and nearly empty shop. “You’re odd, aren’t you?”

Who the hell was he to call her odd?

“What?”

“Well…I thought girls liked girl cute, pretty things to wear- dresses, skirts- whatever. But all you’ve chosen is oversized hoodies, long sleeved t-shirts for sleeping, leggings… things that definitely don’t show of your figure-why?” He asked out of genuine curiosity.

She bit into her lip, his question was harmless enough but causing unpleasant emotions to bubble up from within. Whether it was because the shifter felt freer in lose clothing due to her power nature- perhaps a smidge of it being her nonexistent self-esteem- why was it his concern?

“no reason, just preference.” She shrugged him off before stalking over to a different section of the shop. She realized she’d need to pick out some more…personal items, much to her horror- she definitely couldn’t do that with these two hovering over her.

She abruptly turned on her heel, causing the pair to nearly stumble into her. Baëkhyun glowered at her.

“Why did-“

“The next area I need to look at on my own, I won’t run, Promise.”

He narrowed his eyes in response, suspicion clear in his heated gaze.

“Why should I trust you word? You could shift into some little insect or something and disappear.”

“I won’t! I...just need to look at some…private things”

Her face was heating up and truthfully, she just wanted to die in this moment, if you would have ever told her she’d be having this conversation with the en-…with the x-clones, she would have laughed in your face without another thought.

And yet…here she was, doing just that.

Something seemed to click for the pale x-clone, his expression suddenly unreadable- was he blushing? He grabbed the back of Kāi’s jacket and swiftly dragged him away.

“You have fifteen minutes” he scowled before the pair disappeared somewhere else within the shop. She breathed out a sigh of relief before quickly getting to work.

_________________

Finally, they were done- to her shock and embarrassment they had paid for her items since she belatedly realized she had no money- all of her belongings back on earth. She had gone to protest- Baëkhyun, however, had quickly put an end to any and all arguments.

So now both her and the brooding male walked slowly through the casual crowd- Kāi having disappeared to God knows where- until something caught her eye.

It was a tattoo shop- but they’d sell piercings…her fingers absentmindedly traced over empty piercings holes- apparently her snake bites had nearly melted into her skin after Chën’s fit so Ląy had to remove them.

Baëkhyun had kept walking, failing to notice the female beside him had halted her steps, staring longingly at the shop. Once he did realize, he nearly felt his heart stop- ready to hunt her down, because so help him-

Once his gaze landed on the frozen figure, slowly trailing her line of sight, he sighed in exasperation. She was going to be the death of him, he just knew it.

“If you want to stop somewhere, tell me- don’t just disappear.” He couldn’t stop the snappy tone his voice took, though when he saw her body tense and lower her head, subdued, he wanted to just throw himself into the black-flamed sun.

After reigning in his flare of emotion, he gently cleared his throat, bending slightly so he was able to look her in the eye, even though she tried to hide her emotions- her eyes revealed them clear as day and the weariness and hurt the broke through left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Do you want to go inside?” he asked gently, with a slight timid nod he gently took her by the hand and lead her into the dark shop, smoke swirled around through the air, different drawings and pictures of tattoos lined the walls and, in the front, there was a large, extensive glass case of piercings.

For the first time- probably since any of their encounters- he saw the small spark of excitement as she looked through the collection of piercings. He ended up watching her look at the display until he caught himself-

He immediately put space between them, silently berating himself for being so foolish. He was smarter then this, what was his problem?

“did you find something?” he asked when she pulled herself away from the case, she hesitated- lost in her own conflicting thoughts.

She had found a pair- one was the moon while the other was light, they were black with silver trimming. Scarlett however didn’t want to allow herself to accept anything more from them, not more then what was needed. It was too late through, having looked over her shoulder he easily found the pair that caught her interest.

Striding up to the counter, he pointed them out “We’ll take these” he said simply, Scarlett’s head shot up, eyes open wide in shock.

“No- I don’t need- I don’t want them.” She replied stubbornly, the guilt that had been eating away at her all-day intensifying.

Traitor, why are you getting comfortable with the enemy? What would they think- what would Baek think?

Thoughts much like these continued to assault her weary mind, she was so tired of fighting them. Of course, she had been ignored, soon he returned to her side softly placing the small box in her open palm.

“Stop over-thinking things so much, just take them” he chided, her gaze snapped up towards him, heart hammering in her chest, in that moment- having seen through her so easily, and the odd softness in his tone-

He reminded her exactly of her Baek in that moment- it terrified her.

________________________________

An odd air of silence surrounded the pair once they left the shop, now in search for the AWOL x-clone that was responsible for getting them back. Baëkhyun scowled, where the hell had he gone now?

His gaze constantly shifted around their area, trying to find the green-haired idiot in the crowd, however something else caught his eye that sent cold dread rushing through his veins and he was reacting with impressive speed.

Things had taken a sudden dangerous turn when Baëkhyun spotted fucking Jungkook and Seokjin casually walking amongst the crowd, carrying bags filled to the brim with food.

Cursing bitterly, the snowy-haired male gripper her upper arm tightly as he dragged her abruptly around a corner of some buildings, pulling her deeper into the alley between them before pinning her to the bricked wall while pressing his body against her own, his hand reaching up to press her head against his chest, tucked under his chin while his hand entangled themselves through her long dark silky locks of hair.

feeling the heat radiating off his body, his scent swirling around- nearly suffocating her. Warm undertones of spiced cinnamon filling her senses.

She could hear- as well as feel- his heart beating wildly within his ribcage, betraying his calm and collected movements. At the moment they had no idea where Kāi had wondered off to, he just silently hoped that the watch dogs wouldn’t spot him.

Scarlett remained frozen, puzzled by her sudden predicament, the instinct to push him away bristling-

“Don’t move, just trust me on this” he whispered lowly, puff of his warm breath sending involuntary shivers down her spine, his hold on her unrelenting. She tried to wiggle around, just enough so she could see what had caused his sudden change in demeanor, he hissed trying to get her to keep still- trying to keep her from seeing-

Too late.

The silver-eyed female finally locked onto what he had seen, her eyes widening as the world around her seemed to swirl. Her heart breaking all over again as she watched the doe-eyed male walk without a care in the world through the crowd before her gaze shifted to the broad-shoulder companion.

Jungkook…Seokjin…

She felt her world crumbling, now seeing with her own eyes what Baëkhyun cruelly told her the previous day and what Ląy had gently try to explain while picking up the pieces- it was true. How else would they be out and about, instead of being locked away in the darkness of the Red Force or fighting for a way to get back to earth- to Yoongi.

A strangled, muffled whimper escaped her lips, eyes watering before her gaze was forcibly ripped away from the scene she was locked onto. Baëkhyun kept a firm grip on her jaw, eyes boring into her watery ones with an unreadable look in them. He rested his forehead against her own, shielding her from the pair as best he could.

They remained tangled together for a while longer, until he knew for sure the duo had passed without spotting them or Kāi, wherever he was among the crowd. He could feel the thin female trembling in his arms, trying to keep the cracks in her façade from breaking apart any further.

Still seeing no sign of the tanned-skinned male, he cursed lowly before making a split decision- they had to get away from all these people, they were to exposed. He scooped her into his arms with ease, cradling her gently against his chest while her face remained buried into the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

He moved swiftly through the streets, taking back alleyways to avoid being seen, his eyes stained red, narrowed in maliciousness.

_____________________________

They ended up in an abandoned park- or what she assumed was supposed to be a park, she wasn’t too sure about anything anymore.

Slowly he sat himself on the ground, under a bare tree, trying his best not to jostle her too much. whether she realized or not- her hands had fisted themselves into his clothing, turning paper white under the strain of her hold.

With one hand he reached up, tugging his facemask off before repeating the process for her- her breathing steadily quickening, tears now silently flowing. He was angry at himself, it was his fault she saw that, if he had held on tighter-

He sighed, what’s done was done, he couldn’t change it now. He allowed silence to soothe over them until the red drained from his eyes- he didn’t want to set her off and make things worse. Hesitantly his thumb brushed against her wet cheek, wiping the tears that stained her ivory skin.

“…Scarlett?”

Only silence answered, so he tried again, voice barely above a whisper.

“…Little dove?”

She shook harder in response, slowly she peered up at him with wide tear-filled eyes, lashes clinging together from tear droplets that strayed -

She looked at him so brokenly it made him want to eradicate all the causes for it- even if he himself was one of those causes.

“You…were right” she choked out, fighting a loud sob, “I guess you really haven’t lied to me, have you? Your words might be cruel but it’s not a lie…How…how could they? I don’t u-understand” she rambled through broken sobs that wracked her body, Baëkhyun felt the guilt in his heart blossomed, leaving it feeling heavy and torn.

“Y-yoongi…He’s been blaming himself this whole time…I…I’ve told him we’d find them- we’d bring them home. But they-….they’ve joined the same people who hurt them- hurt all of us! They killed-“ she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, it was more then she could handle in this moment,

“Why!?” she wailed, her fist weakly pounding against the silent male’s chest in agony, panic rising and consuming, dark thoughts and emotions using this moment of weakness to strike.

How are you any better? Aren’t you betraying your friends this very moment? Seeking comfort from the enemy?

Her body flinched violently, as if she’d just been punched in the face by her own thoughts. She couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard she tried- she couldn’t. everything was crashing around her, dragging her down and suffocating every part of her, body and soul.

Was she any better? Was she betraying her loved ones this very moment by this show of weakness? This conflicted thoughts only caused her to sob harder.

Not even fighting off the soothing motion of Baëkhyun’s hand when he started to pet her hair, his fingers threading through her silky strands lightly- touch as soft as a feather. He remained silent, allowing the girl to hash out her emotions without adding to the problem.

Soft cooing words slipped past his pouty lips; she was so distraught she hadn’t really heard anything he was saying- it was simply the vibrations of his voice that started to lull her into a weary sleep once the panic attack had subsided.

Only once he was sure she had fallen asleep; did he speak so softly that his words were easily carried away and scattered by the wind as he held onto her protectively.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, little dove.”


	16. Promise

_“Scarlett…wake up~” a soft persistent voice cooed softly, the silver-eyed female whined quietly, unwilling to leave the warmth that wrapped around her snugly, feather light kisses placed along her collar bones, tickling her skin._

_“Come on~ wake up, love” the voice pouted- a teasing smile spread across her lips as she slowly opened her eyes, sweet dark puppy-like eyes already staring back at her._

_“So whiny…” she mused, her smile widening at his mock expression of hurt, his pout deepening._

_“Why are you so mean? I shower you in my love and this is how you repay me?”_

_“Stop pouting, you know I love you.” Baek bit his lip, trying to keep hidden the smile that was forming at her words, heart swelling in emotion._

_“Oh…I’m not so sure..” his voice trailed off, eyeing her in challenge, waiting for her next move. Scarlett had to resist rolling her eyes, her fingers gently stroking through his fluffy hair, his head leaning into her gentle touch._

_His finger tapped against his lips, silently gesture of wanting. Leaning up on her elbow she brought her lips down onto his pouty ones, the pair losing themselves in a tender, unhurried moment. Slowly his hands roamed her bare chest, ghost like touches igniting an ache from deep within._

_The next moment, another pair of hand wrapped themselves firmly around her naked waist, fingers pressing teasing motions into her ivory skin._

_“He’s so needy, what do you see in him, little dove” asked a familiar smooth voice, his tone soft with sharp undertones compared to the other’s warm and teasing tone._

_“Shut up, who was the one being a needy, clingy mess last night, huh?” Baek retorted, though his voice was full of mirth as he looked over Scarlett’s shoulder, Baëkhyun staring back in a grumpy scowl before burying his face into her soft skin, right between her shoulder blades._

_His soft huffs of breath sending shivers down her spine._

_“You both are such a pain” she groaned softly, Baëkhyun had begun to place slow, sensual kisses across the top of her shoulders, slowly trailing lower and lower, nipping at sensitive skin. Not one to let the other show him up, Baek pressed his fingers against her jaw, urging her into another needy kiss._

_This wasn’t real._

_Warning signals went off in the back of her mind, distant and faded, she barely had a moment to focus on them, her attention focused solely on the two crowding her senses until all she could feel, breathe, smell and think about was them._

_Spiced cinnamon, warm cotton with woodsy undertones soaking into her very being. Bodies entangled hastily in the throes of pleasure._

_Soft murmurs of praise and love spilling past their lips as the thin female writhed and whined underneath them._

_“Who’s the needy one now?” Baëkhyun teased before continuing his ministrations, Baek simply humming in reply, to focused on leaving bruising marks down the column of her throat._

_Wake up. This is a lie._

_The sinking feeling in her stomach grew, anxiety slowly creeping in- why? She was with her lovers; they’d never hurt her. So why was the fear growing? The warning alarms now blaring, demanding her attention._

_“If you’re done with…well, whatever you want to call this- our time is limited.”_

_A cool, collected voice filled the room, breaking the hazy trance Scarlett had slipped into- she was falling now, mouth open in a silent scream as the all-encompassing warmth slipped through her fingers, leaving behind frigid fear._

__

__

A grunt of pain sounded from her lips, the scenery completely different from its previous form- both Baek and Baëkhyun no where to be seen.

What was that? Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, now realizing it was a dream- albeit a very vivid one- it was so unlike her and left her feeling foolish.

“Well, that was an interesting scene to interrupt.”

Abashedly Scarlett met the gaze of Scąr who kept her mask of indifference, never giving away what she truly thought, Scarlett cleared her throat, wanting to quickly move on from this subject.

“That isn’t a normal occurrence, I don’t-“she halted in her words when the snowy-haired female simply waved her off, uninterested.

“I honestly don’t care, to each their own.”

“…Where have you been? I tried to find you a couple times, anytime I was able to sleep- but you didn’t answer.”

“Sometimes I simply don’t have enough energy to hold a connection, I felt your distress, what’s happened?” she asked, not going into detail about her own situation. Scarlett frowned, had something happened? She felt…off.

She tried to recount what had happened before she fell asleep, and then it hit her- crashing into her like a pile of bricks. She could feel her eyes water and despair grasp at her.

“I…They told me, but I didn’t believe them…How could I? None of it makes sense” her lip quivered as she tried to suppress a fresh wave of tears, not wanting to break down in front of her x-self, she already felt so hallow and weak, she didn’t want her pity or scorn.

“Who? What were you told?”

“…Well, I more so heard a conversation between Baëkhyun and Ląy…I confronted them about it and then Baëkhyun blew, sharing more then he probably meant too….They told me about the Bangtan crew- that they…”

She couldn’t say it, even though she saw it with her own eyes- knowing she’d been told the truth, it only sent her spiraling,

“…They told you that they had joined the red force, correct?” Scąr added, a rare tone of softness as she spoke, the silver-eyed female was only able to nod in response, her hands clenched tightly, nails digging into the palms of her hands.

“Did…did they actually kill Taehyung and Hobi?”

“…Yes, when the two wouldn’t agree to go along with the others and join the Red Force, they were both killed.”

“Who?”

“…What?”

“Who did it, tell me- I need to know.”

Silence ensued, a look of unease passing through Scar’s expression.

“I’m not sure that’s-“

“Please.”

“…They had to prove their loyalty, each in different ways- however for Jimin, what would prove it more then killing the closest person? His soulmate? As for Hoseok…well, Jungkook saw to it. I’m not exactly sure how the other two proved their loyalty though.”

A strangled cry pushed past Scarlett’s lips, her heart shattering. How was any of this possible? Jimin of all people being responsible for Tae’s death? Jungkook- the same bunny smiled boy who had cared for and looked up to his Hyungs-

They had been the cause, their friend’s blood staining their hands, Namjoon and Seokjin having gone along with it. What the hell had happened for them to make such drastic choices?

“W-what about Nct? Are they-“

“All dead, except for the two remaining on your earth.”

“How?”

“They had also been presented the same choice, join the cause or die- however they all refused, even until the end they remained as one.”

Her head was swimming, she felt like she was going to pass out all over again- was that even possible in this dream world? She didn’t know. Only when she felt a pair of hands gripping onto her arms firmly had she realized her body had collapsed, overwhelmed by the news drowning her completely.

“You have to keep level-headed, you can’t let this break you or all their deaths will be for naught. I need you to listen right now, alright?” she waited until Scarlett nodded brokenly in agreement.

“Whatever happens you can not allow Red Force to capture you, I understand your inner conflict, but you must trust Baëkhyun and the other members, right now they are all you have. Do you understand?”

“Yes…can I ask you something?”

“…Sure.”

“The way you’re able to form a connection with me in this…dream world, am I able to do the same?”

“…You want to try and contact your Baekhyun, aren’t you?”

Scarlett sheepishly nodded- couldn’t it work though? If she was able to do this with her x-self, then maybe she could figure out how to do the same with someone from earth- Baekhyun or even Luhan since he was already attuned to the mind.

“Perhaps” she mused in thought, “You can try, but don’t lose focus. You need to be vigilant now more than ever. It might sound harsh but the people you once knew- they are gone, they’ve signed their souls to the other side, and they will not hesitate to take you down to accomplish their end game”

“…Isn’t that what you and the others want from me as well? Am I not just a means to an end like Baëkhyun claimed? How can I trust anyone here on this planet? The ones I trust- truly trust are all on earth, I am alone here, drowning.” She lashed out at her x-self.

The oppressing emotions crashing down and swallowing her whole, every single moment, threat and cruel word that been directed towards her since being forced to this place taking hold. Scar watched silently, though not unkindly.

Their surroundings started to distort and fade- their time quickly coming to an end, the black-sclera eyed parting with these words before the pair were ripped away from each other once more;

_“You must look beneath the façade people often times wear in front of others to protect themselves- yourself included, sometimes you must be willing to take a leap of faith and not let the fear of falling to keep you from trying.”_

____________________________________

Baëkhyun POV

By the time Kāi had finally found him- the unconscious female still cradled protectively in his arms- and transported them out of the town, just barely avoiding the onslaught of rain as the stormy sky opened, heavy rainfall pelting down.

The moon-skinned male was boiling with rage. Mostly at himself, but also the situation- the people who where the cause- just all of it. Kāi had taken care of bringing the shopping bags to hear room, disappearing with them before quickly returning.

Baëkhyun ignored the curious eyes that trailed after him as he briskly walked down the halls, no one daring to ask what was wrong, not wanting to the scapegoat for his rage which was rolling off him in waves.

Ląy, the ever-brave soul, trailed behind him as he passed the kitchen, brows knitted in worry.

“What happened? Is she hurt?”

“Later Ląy, no, she’s not physically hurt.” If only it had been that simple. The older male sighing before relenting silently, allowing him to leave in peace. Once they were inside her room, he kicked the door shut before turning towards her bed, gently placing her under the covers, each movement slow and gentle.

A deep frown settled across his face, pacing lightly in conflict. Should he leave and give her space? The thought of her waking up in a distraught state didn’t settle well with him though, so after battling with himself he dragged the desk chair to the side of the bed before collapsing into it tiredly, a weary sigh escaping his lips.

They had been lucky, none of them had been spotted- knowing if they had there was no way it would’ve ended peacefully.

He made himself as comfortable as possible in the stiff chair, his gaze never straying from her sleeping form. Even in sleep, her brows were knitted together, lips in a pouted frown- how could they look so soft?

He startled at the thought, shaking his head roughly, rubbing his face irritability. He had so much pent of emotion that he wanted to get out- the lights flickering dangerously in response- but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side.

So, he stayed.

______________________________

Slowly Scarlett’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused as she shifted quietly in bed- when had she gotten here? Her attention was stolen by the soft breathing to her side, curiously her eyes flicked down, only to find a sleeping Baëkhyun.

The top half of his body slumped over the bed, head resting on top his arms. This was the first time she’d ever seen him asleep- similarities to Baek’s own posture when she’d find him asleep, like her Baek he had long full lashed that brushed against his pale cheeks. His silky white hair splayed over his eyes, the small braid in his hair over his shoulder- she had to resist the urge to brush it back of his face.

A rare expression of peace in his expression, brows not furrowed, his face relaxed- he looked so soft, delicate almost. His face chain still somehow perfectly in place, part of her wanted to reach over and take it off- just to spite him.

Images flashed quickly through her mind, the odd dream creeping up, her face heated up in mortification, it was something she’d take to her grave. She’d throw herself over a cliff if anyone ever found out. What was wrong with her?

She watched him silently for a few moments, soaking in the rare sight- both her and her Baek were so similar and yet complete opposites at the same time, she shouldn’t have been so surprised- she and her x-self were also so different yet shared certain qualities.

Her hand reached out, lightly brushing the hair out of his eyes, the motion seemed to wake the male from his light sleep- his eyes snapping open looking sharp and dangerous as if he were expecting something other then the scene that greeted him.

He blinked owlishly before coming to his senses, abruptly sitting up in the chair he occupied. Focused intently on her the whole time, though he seemed hesitant before finally breaking the silence.

“How…are you feeling?” he murmured lowly, eyes searching. She avoided his gaze, she honestly felt so broken- everything continually falling apart around her.

“I guess you were right, even if it’s harsh- you’ve never lied” she answered, voice drained and hallow- He hated seeing her like that. His fingers gently resting under her chin, carefully lifting her head so he could look her in the eye.

Her eyes brimmed red and raw from the heavy stream of tears that had been shed, eyes weary and dull- conflicted. A small sigh escaped his lips as he used his free hand to gently brush under her puffy eyes, swiping away a stray eyelash left behind.

Gently his hands shifted until they cupped her face, his thumbs still ghosting over the soft skin in soothing ministrations.

“I’m sorry” he breathed, eyes clenching shut briefly be re-opening them, regret clear in his gaze. He rested his forehead against hers, she peered at him in questioning;

“…For what?”

“…How I’ve handled myself around you.” He paused, licking his dry lips anxiously- this wasn’t easy for him, for both of them.

“I know our past is complicated, we’ve been viewed as your enemy and on both sides, we’ve allowed our biases- our hate…pain, to control us. I…I know I’ve done a lot to hurt you in your short time here- I…Going forward I want us to work together- not based on threats or fear or anger I…ugh, Can we start over? I know it’s asking a lot of you, but we need your help- I need your help…” he paused, voice strained in this moment of vulnerability.

She bit her lip, it was true- she didn’t owe them anything, they had attacked her and her friends, been part of their pain past and present- he had threatened and pushed her since she arrived. She was afraid, opening herself up to the possibility it would end in her death-

That she was just being used.

However, that’s not what she found in his pleading gaze, she exhaled deeply, willing the lurking thoughts to shut up- even just for the moment. Scąr’s words echoing in her mind- If she was ever going to take a leap, this seemed the right moment to do so.

“Alright…” she noticed how his icy-blue eyes lit up for the first time- at least the first time she’d ever seen.

“I’ll help you- all of you, I want to put an end to this for all of us, those back on earth included. So…Let’s start over…just, please don’t make me regret this” she pleaded softly, fear and anxiety lacing her words.

Baëkhyun still kept his forehead pressed against her own, their breathes mingling together as neither of them averted their gaze, his eyes glinting in seriousness,

“You won’t regret this…I promise.”

After a few beats of silence, he slowly moved away, backing out of her personal space, he silently vowed to himself not to be the cause of her pain- her brokenness any longer and, though it terrified him, for the first time in who knew how long-

He felt a small seed of hope taking root within himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask how that dream at the beginning came about because I have no idea, clearly I've lost my mind. ╰(￣ω￣ｏ)
> 
> Also I feel like I need to apologize again to Tae and Hobi, because i honestly feel so bad about their fate, I'm sorry(っ °Д °;)っ ╯︿╰
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! (It's raining like cats and dogs right now, but I lovely rainy days) stay safe! Let me know what you think of the story so far...Hope you continue to enjoy! Thank you🖤🖤


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